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LIBRARY 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 


PAT  RIOTS    IN 
THE  MAKING 

WHAT  AMERICA  CAN  LEARN 
FROM  FRANCE  AND  GERMANY 


BY 
JONATHAN  FRENCH  SCOTT,  PhD, 

INSTBUCTOB  IN  HISTORY  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  MICBIOAS 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION 

BY  THE 

HON.  MYRON  T.  HERRICK 

FORMER  AMBASSADOR  TO  FBAHCB 


D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1916 


COPTHIGHT,  1916,  BT 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY] 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TO  MY  FATHER 

AUSTIN  SCOTT 

THIS  BOOK  IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 


FOEEWOED 

This  book  was  not  begun  with  the  idea  of  teaching 
a  lesson,  but  rather  with  the  object  of  showing  some- 
thing of  the  relationship  that  has  long  existed  in 
France  and  Germany  between  the  school  and  the  na- 
tional consciousness.  In  both  these  countries  educa- 
tion has  long  been  used  as  a  political  instrument. 
Prussia  perceived  its  possibilities  after  the  battle  of 
Jena ;  France  realized  its  value  after  Sedan.  Both  na- 
tions have  employed  the  school  to  mold  the  mind  of 
rising  generations  to  a  preconceived  type  of  patriot- 
ism. The  significance  of  the  psychology  thus  formed 
is  revealing  itself  in  the  present  war. 

The  experience  of  these  countries  ought  not  to  be 
disregarded  by  the  United  States.  After  her  crush- 
ing defeat  in  the  Franco-German  War,  France  saw 
clearly  the  danger  of  a  blind,  boastful  patriotism 
founded  on  ignorance  of  national  conditions.  This 
sort  of  patriotism  led  to  over-confidence,  unreadiness, 
chauvinism  and  disaster.  Hence  France  founded  the 
preparedness  movement,  which  she  undertook  after 
the  war,  on  an  intelligent,  critical  patriotism,  care- 
fully developed  through  education.  Only  thus  did  it 
seem  possible  to  make  adequate  preparedness  perma- 
nent. The  lesson  of  this  should  not  be  lost  on 
Americans. 

vii 


FOREWOKD 

On  the  other  hand  it  must  be  admitted  that  there 
has  been  a  tendency,  both  in  the  French  and  German 
schools,  to  magnify  nationalism  and  to  develop  an- 
tagonism toward  other  countries.  True,  the  influ- 
ence of  this  has  been  partly  offset,  in  France  at  least, 
by  certain  humanitarian  teachings  which  found  their 
way  into  the  schools  during  the  last  quarter-century ; 
but  the  tendency  to  an  intensification  of  the  princi- 
ple of  nationality  remained  predominant.  Our  own 
schools  have  not  been  free  from  instruction  of  this 
sort;  but  it  behooves  us  in  future  to  avoid  such 
teachings.  To  draw  the  line  between  an  education 
that  makes  for  proper  patriotism  and  one  that  makes 
for  narrow  nationalism  may  not  be  easy,  but  it  can 
be  done  if  careful  attention  is  given  to  the  problem. 
True  Americanism  should  pave  the  way  through  edu- 
cation to  that  mutual  understanding  among  the  na- 
tions which  alone  can  form  the  basis  of  permanent 
peace. 

I  am  happy  to  acknowledge-  the  assistance  which  I 
have  received  from  many  persons  in  the  preparation 
of  this  work.  To  the  Hon.  Myron  T.  Herrick,  who 
has  kindly  consented  to  write  the  introduction,  I  am 
most  grateful.  I  am  also  greatly  indebted  to  Pro- 
fessor Paul  Monroe,  of  Teachers'  College,  who  has 
helped  me  with  advice  and  criticism;  to  Professor 
Herbert  A.  Kenyon,  of  the  University  of  Michigan, 
who  has  generously  gone  over  all  the  manuscript  with 
me ;  to  Professor  W.  A.  McLaughlin,  of  the  same  in- 
stitution; to  Professors  Davis  and  Billetdoux,  of 
Rutgers  College,  and  to  Mrs.  W.  H.  Wait,  of  Ann 
Arbor,  who  have  given  me  valuable  suggestions. 

viii 


I^OEEWORD 

I  owe  much  also  to  various  members  of  my  family, 
especially  to  my  father,  who  has  helped  me  particu- 
larly in  the  preparation  of  the  chapter  on  the  teach- 
ing of  patriotism  in  Germany.  To  him  this  little 
book  is  gratefully  dedicated. 

Jonathan  F.  Scott 

Ann  Arbor,  Michigan 


CONTENTS 


I.    Historical  Sketch:  French  Education  as 

National  Self- Expression       ...  3 

II.    Molding  the  Psychology  of  Defense        .  24 

III.  The    Inculcation    op    Hostility    Toward 

Germany 63 

IV.  The  Teaching  of  Loyalty  to  the  Republic  86 
-  V.     Contending  Forces  in  French   Education  123 

/\VI.    Patriotism  in  German  Education       .        .  155 

VII.    The  Lesson  for  America      ....  193 

VIII.    Military  Training  in  Europe      .        .        .  217 

y^.IX.    Conclusions 244 

Appendix  L    The  Military  Value  of  a  Psychology 

of  Patriotism 259 

Appendix  II.   A  Day's  Work  in  the  Swiss  Army  261 


INTRODUCTION 

Notwithstanding  that  more  than  two  years  of  the 
most  terrible  war  in  all  history  have  passed,  the 
American  imagination  as  yet  has  failed  to  grasp  the 
full  lesson  of  the  tragedy.  To  the  average  American, 
Europe  is  like  a  stage  on  which  is  being  played  a 
horrifying  melodrama  that  will  presently  come  to 
some  happy  end.  That  he  may  himself  ever  become 
an  actor  on  such  a  stage,  rather  than  a  mere  specta- 
tor, he  finds  it  difficult  to  conceive.  The  old  unseeing 
faith  in  our  national  isolation  still  affects  his  think- 
ing. 

That  isolation  is  no  longer  so  complete  or  secure 
as  once  it  was.  By  the  extension  of  our  possessions 
to  new  contacts  with  other  powers,  by  advance  in 
methods  of  communication,  and  the  growth  of  new 
commercial  and  political  relations,  we  have  passed 
from  the  period  of  our  exclusiveness  to  full  mem- 
bership in  the  concert  of  world  powers. 

But,  while  our  national  position  has  changed,  our 
national  mechanism  has  not  been  altered  to  confonn 
to  the  new  conditions.  Even  in  the  midst  of  a  world 
at  war,  with  the  certainty  of  resulting  change  as  the 
one  certain  thing  in  view,  we  are  clinging  obstinately 
to  old  method,  old  tradition,  trusting  to  some  lucky 
opportunism,  rather  than  trying  to  determine  our 
own  future  and  preparing  to  meet  in  full  readiness 
xiii 


INTRODUCTION 

the  issues  that  are  still  obscure.  As  a  nation  we 
seem  to  be  groping  aimlessly  in  the  dark,  rather  than 
courageously  attempting  to  find  the  light. 

The  course  that  the  United  States  has  followed  in 
these  eventful  years  has  not  added  to  the  security 
of  its  position  in  international  society;  there  is  rea- 
son to  doubt  whether  we  have  now  a  single  friend 
among  the  nations  of  Europe,  and  it  is  evident  that 
we  have  lost  favor  with  at  least  one  of  our  neigh- 
bors in  the  western  hemisphere.  We  have  to  realize 
that  as  a  nation  we  are  standing  alone  at  a  time  when 
the  balance  of  the  world  has  been  upset  and  the 
whole  future  made  obscure.  Few,  indeed,  want  to  see 
our  country  involved  in  the  struggle  that  is  destroy- 
ing civilization  abroad,  but  it  is  not  hard  to  compre- 
hend the  difficulty  and  danger  of  keeping  an  even 
course  in  these  days  of  perplexity  and  doubt. 

That  the  defects  of  the  national  structure  have  not 
gone  unnoticed  is  evidenced  in  the  spontaneous  and 
general  movement  for  *' preparedness."  Growing 
out  of  the  sudden  realization  that  our  army  and  navy 
are  quite  inadequate,  under  modern  methods  of  war- 
fare, to  protect  the  country  against  aggression,  and 
inspired  by  the  thought  that  a  nation  which  is  worth 
having  is  worth  protecting,  this  movement  has  de- 
veloped into  a  serious  effort  to  coordinate  all  sources 
of  American  strength — economic,  social,  political — 
and  to  apply  them  to  the  promotion  of  American  in- 
terests everywhere  and  the  advancement  of  mankind. 
The  United  States  has  advantages  in  natural  re- 
sources, in  situation,  above  all  in  character  of  popula- 
tion, that  entitle  her  to  a  prominent  place  in  the  world. 

xiv 


INTRODUCTION 

We  have  all  the  parts  of  a  great  national  mechanism ; 
to  assemble  those  parts,  to  fire  the  living  mechanism 
with  the  high  ideals  of  its  founders,  is  the  grand 
object  of  true  preparedness. 

If  long  years  of  peace  and  prosperity  have  made 
us  somewhat  forgetful  of  the  duties  we  owe  to  the 
country  that  has  made  us  prosperous,  if  differences 
of  race  and  language  have  obscured  for  a  while  our 
common  Americanism,  it  is  time  now  to  sink  our  sel- 
fishness and  join  our  hearts  and  our  energies  for 
the  common  service  of  the  nation.  A  democracy  like 
ours  is  powerless  except  as  it  draws  on  the  united 
strength  of  its  citizens ;  they  are  both  the  government 
and  the  governed,  to  whom  every  question  comes  for 
final  answer,  on  whom  every  burden  falls. 

Every  boy  in  Europe  knows,  as  soon  as  he  knows 
anything,  that  he  owes  one  certain,  fixed  debt — 
service  to  country.  He  learns  that  lesson  in  his  home 
and  in  his  school;  it  is  the  atmosphere  in  which  he 
lives. 

Here  in  America  we  have  neglected  the  teaching 
of  that  lesson.  Life  has  been  easy  and  pleasant  for 
us  in  this  new,  rich  land,  and  in  the  fifty  years  since 
the  Civil  War  settled  our  last  great  national  ques- 
tions we  have  tended  to  look  on  government  as  a 
thing  remote  and  apart,  that  would  go  on  somehow 
whether  we  gave  it  any  attention  or  not.  The  col- 
lapse of  civilization  abroad  has  shocked  us  from  our 
self-absorption,  and  the  whole  nation  is  stirred  by 
a  regenerative  force  like  that  which  quickened  the 
hearts  of  the  men  of  76  and  of  '61. 

If  this  new  spirit  in  American  life  is  not  to  evapo- 

XV 


INTRODUCTION 

rate  in  inconsequential  hysteria  it  must  be  transmit- 
ted to  the  generation  of  young  Americans  now  grow- 
ing up  in  school  and  college.  They  should  be  taught, 
as  the  youth  of  France  and  Grermany  have  learned, 
that  in  war  or  in  peace  the  first  duty  of  citizens  is  to 
country.  So  may  our  citizens  of  tomorrow  be  more 
ardent  Americans;  so  may  they  cor.;  nearer  to  the 
realization  of  American  ideals ;  so  may  they  make  of 
America  in  fullest  measure  that  which  it  was  estab- 
lished to  be — the  foremost  exponent  of  popular  gov- 
ernment, a  refuge  for  the  oppressed  of  every  race, 
an  inspiration  through  all  the  world  to  those  who 
seek  liberty,  justice  and  equality. 

Myron  T.  Herrick 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  July  31,  1916 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 


CHAPTER  I 

HISTORICAL   SKETCH:   FRENCH  EDUCATION   AS 
NATIONAL  SELF-EXPRESSION 

From  time  immemorial  national  ideals  and 
purposes  have  found  expression  in  education. 
Warlike  states  have  inspired  their  youth  with 
the  glories  of  military  achievement;  peaceful 
countries  have  taught  the  blessings  of  order  and 
calm.  Eeligion,  love  of  beauty,  reverence  for 
the  past,  the  desire  for  material  prosperity — 
all  these  forces  and  many  others,  where  they 
have  been  dominant  in  the  lives  of  nations,  have 
given  color  to  national  education,  as  the  tree 
lends  its  hue  to  the  chameleon  clinging  to 
its  branches.  Thus  in  ambitious,  courageous, 
brutal  Sparta,  lads  were  torn  from  their  homes 
at  an  early  age,  and  brought  up  in  public  bar- 
racks, there  to  be  toughened,  hardened  and 
made  ready  for  the  emergencies  of  warfare. 
Athens,  too,  had  to  train  her  young  men  to  be 
soldiers,  but  in  this  esthetic  and  pleasure-lov- 
ing state  it  was  literature,  music  and  gymnas- 

3 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

tics  which  helped  to  prepare  the  son  of  the 
cultured  Athenian  gentleman  for  ^Hhe  rational 
enjoyment  of  leisure  hours.''  In  China,  until 
recent  years,  love  of  order  and  stability  made 
education  primarily  a  recapitulation  of  the 
past.  Every  highly  developed  country,  though 
not  unresponsive  to  the  general  influences  of 
civilization,  has  given  to  its  system  of  instruc- 
tion a  distinctively  national  character. 

In  France  education  has  been  powerfully  af- 
fected by  the  vicissitudes  of  French  history. 
At  one  time  it  has  worn  the  dress  of  a  courtier, 
at  another  the  garb  of  a  monk,  at  another  the 
uniform  of  a  soldier.  Political  and  social  de- 
velopments seemingly  far  removed  from  the 
training  of  children  have  profoundly  affected 
their  instruction.  A  brief  survey  of  French 
education  from  the  time  of  Louis  XIV  to  the 
present  day  will  serve  to  show  how  instruction 
has  responded  to  the  influences  dominating  the 
life  of  the  nation. 

It  was  the  absolute  monarchy  of  the  Ancient 
Eegime  that  indirectly  brought  about  what  Pro- 
fessor S.  C.  Parker  has  termed  the  ^Mancing- 
master"  education.  Shortly  after  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  royalty  had  virtu- 
ally completed  the  process  of  subjugating  the 

4 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

aristocracy,  once  so  powerful  and  independent, 
rivaling  even  the  king  himself  in  splendor. 
Louis  XIV  signalized  his  victory  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  his  brilliant  court  at  Versailles; 
here  he  could  have  the  greater  and  lesser  lords 
under  his  eye,  forestalling  any  possible  insubor- 
dination, while  at  the  same  time  their  luster  in- 
creased his  own.  The  nobles,  for  their  part, 
sought  eagerly  the  favor  of  the  king,  finding  it 
an  honor  to  stand  behind  him  at  table  or  to 
hand  him  his  nightshirt  when  he  retired.  The 
fighting  cavaliers  of  ancient  days  had  been 
transformed  into  fawning  courtiers. 

Thus  there  developed  that  extravagant,  cere- 
monious, yet  highly  competitive  court  life,  the 
pride  of  the  Ancient  Regime,  destined  to  perish 
in  the  wrath  of  the  Revolution.  To  gain  the 
favor  of  the  king  the  nobles  must  ingratiate 
themselves  with  the  monarch  or  with  his  power- 
ful satellites.  To  ingratiate  themselves  they 
must  follow  certain  carefully  prescribed  forms ; 
for  the  king  was  a  stickler  for  etiquette  and  set 
the  fashion  of  a  rigid  and  elaborate  ceremonial. 

For  a  career  at  court,  therefore,  a  careful 
training  became  necessary.  ^^  There  was  then 
.  .  ."  says  Taine,  *'a  certain  way  of  walking, 
of  sitting  down,  of  saluting,  of  picking  up  a 

5 


PATKIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

glove,  of  holding  a  fork,  of  tendering  any  ar- 
ticle, in  fine,  a  complete  mimicry,  which  chil- 
dren had  to  be  taught  at  a  very  early  age,  in 
order  that  habit  might  become  a  second  na- 
ture, and  this  conventionality  formed  so  impor- 
tant an  item  in  the  life  of  men  and  women  in 
aristocratic  circles  that  the  actors  of  the  present 
day,  with  all  their  study,  are  scarcely  able  to 
give  us  an  idea  of  it. ' '  ^  It  is  easy  to  under- 
stand how  an  enfeebled  aristocracy,  fitted  only 
to  ornament  the  elaborate  gardens  and  rococo 
palaces  at  Versailles,  should  come  to  look  upon 
the  dancing-master  as  the  ^'fulcrum  of  educa- 
tion." 

His  teachings  did  not  indeed  comprise  the 
sum  total  of  instruction,  nor  did  they  reach  all 
the  children  of  France.  Many  of  the  people 
were  illiterate;  others  looked  entirely  to  the 
priests  and  monks  for  what  little  learning  they 
received.  Even  the  little  aristocrats,  worldly 
as  they  were,  were  subject  to  a  certain  amount 
of  religious  and  intellectual  education.  But 
the  dancing-master  was  conspicuous  as  a  prac- 
tical teacher.     The  training  that  he  gave,  use- 

^  Taine :  The  Ancient  Regime,  p.  15 ;  see  also  Parker, 
S.  C. :  The  History  of  Modern  Elementary  Education,  Chap. 
VIII. 

6 


HISTOEICAL  SKETCH 

less  as  it  might  be  to  the  world  at  large,  was 
nevertheless  of  high  utilitarian  value  to  the 
well-born  boy  or  girl,  since  it  paved  the  way  to 
social  success,  to  pensions,  advancement  and 
power  at  court. 

Such  was  the  spirit  of  France  under  the 
Ancient  Regime  and  such  the  education  that 
reflected  that  spirit.  In  the  early  nineteenth 
century,  however,  the  Ancient  Regime  had 
passed  and  new  forces  dominated  the  state. 
Disillusioned  by  the  excesses  and  failures  of  the 
Revolution,  France  longed  for  the  establish- 
ment of  security  and  order  at  home.  At  the 
same  time,  intoxicated  by  her  military  suc- 
cesses abroad,  she  thirsted  for  further  con- 
quests. ^^What  the  French  want,''  said  the 
cynical  but  clear-sighted  Napoleon,  *'is  glory 
and  the  satisfaction  of  their  vanity ;  as  for  Lib- 
erty, of  that  they  have  no  conception.''  Thus 
the  spirit  of  the  era  centered  around  the  person- 
ality of  the  great  conqueror,  who  could  turn 
the  dreams  of  the  French  people  into  realities. 
It  was  militaristic  and  imperialistic,  but  at 
the  same  time  characterized  by  orderliness 
and  constructive  statesmanship  in  home  af- 
fairs. 

From  this  background  developed  the  Na- 
7 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

poleonic  system  of  education.  All  instruction 
was  centralized  in  the  Imperial  University, 
with  a  grand  master  at  the  head,  whom  Napo- 
leon thought  to  control.  The  Emperor  aimed  to 
make  himself  loved  and  obeyed  in  all  the 
schools,  securing  loyalty  to  his  despotism  and 
to  his  dynasty.^  In  the  secondary  schools 
known  as  lycees,  discipline  was  at  once  mili- 
tary and  monarchical.^  The  pupils  were  divided 
into  companies  of  twenty-five,  in  each  of  which 
were  a  sergeant  and  four  corporals.  All  ex- 
ercises were  opened  with  the  roll  of  drums. 
Punishments  were  severe;  even  for  slight  of- 
fenses the  boys  might  be  imprisoned.  In  the 
primary  schools  the  children  were  taught  that 
**to  honor  and  serve  our  Emperor  is  to  honor 
and   serve    God   Himself. ' '  ^     All   instruction 

^  Aulard,  A. :  Napoleon  :Zer  et  le  Monopole  Universitaire, 
p.  364.  "II  voulait  fonder  son  depotisme  sur  les  ames, 
et  .  .  .  line  instruction  publiqiie  fortement  centralisee  et 
donnee  par  I'Etat,  lui  parut  le  plus  efficace  moyen  pour 
f  agonner  les  ames." 

2  Ibid.,  p.  93. 

'Quoted  in  Fournier:  Napoleon  (Bourne,  ed.),  p.  409. 
"To  the  question  what  was  to  be  thought  of  those  who  should 
fail  to  perform  their  obligations  toward  the  Emperor,  the 
catechism  made  answer:  ^According  to  Saint  Paul  they 
would  sin  against  the  ordinances  of  God  Himself  and  draw 
down  upon  themselves  eternal  damnation.' " 

8 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

was  to  rest  upon  ''the  precepts  of  religion,  of 
loyalty,  and  of  obedience. ' '  ^ 

In  such  fashion  the  ideals  and  purposes  of  im- 
perialism were  implanted  in  the  hearts  of 
the  young.  In  such  fashion  instruction  was 
adapted  to  carry  out  the  aims  of  the  day. 

Since  the  fall  of  Napoleon  I  various  forces 
have  engaged  in  a  bitter  struggle  for  control 
over  the  national  life  of  France  and  hence  for 
control  over  national  education.  Sometimes 
this  struggle  has  smoldered  in  the  embers  of 
obstruction  and  resentment ;  again  it  has  burst 
forth  into  the  flames  of  hot  political  controversy 
and  even  open  warfare.  The  spirit  of  the  An- 
cient Regime,  enfeebled  and  injured  as  it  had 
been,  did  not  give  up  the  ghost  during  the  pe- 
riod of  the  Revolution  and  the  First  Empire,  but 
strove  again,  in  the  uncertain  political  atmos- 
phere of  the  remainder  of  the  century,  to  re- 
gain something  of  its  ancient  fullness  of  life. 
The  French  love  of  glory  and  the  national  ten- 
dency to  hero-worship  have  fought  against  the 
French  devotion  to  reason.  The  monarchical 
principle  has  striven  to  assert  itself  against 
the  growing  spirit  of  democracy. 

Catholicism  has  warred  against  the  articles 

^Arnold,  M. :    Popular  Education  in  France,  p.  37. 

9 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

of  faith  proclaimed  by  the  men  of  the  great 
Eevolution.  In  its  struggle  with  the  Revolu- 
tion the  Church  has,  in  a  general  way,  asso- 
ciated itself  with  the  monarchical,  as  against 
the  republican,  cause;  but  the  alliance  between 
throne  and  altar  has  not  been  so  close  as  it  was 
before  1789.  The  union  has  been  one  of  policy 
rather  than  of  true  affection;  for  the  Church 
has  ceased  to  be  Galilean  and  has  become  Ultra- 
montane. Its  loyalty  has  been  to  Rome  rather 
than  to  Paris  or  Versailles.  During  the  past 
century,  then,  the  establishment  of  monarchical 
or  imperial  government  in  France  did  not  mean 
the  complete  triumph  of  Catholicism,  nor  did  it 
signalize  the  complete  downfall  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Revolution,  for  royalty  was  never 
able  to  rid  itself  entirely  of  these.  National 
education,  therefore,  did  not  don  again  all  the 
ecclesiastical  and  courtly  garments  that  it  had 
worn  under  the  Grand  Monarque  and  his  suc- 
cessors, but  appeared  for  more  than  sixty-five 
years  in  a  garb  partly  clerical,  partly  secular, 
till  finally  it  was  forced  to  wear  no  other  uni- 
form than  that  of  the  laical,  republican  state. 

Nevertheless  during  the  period  of  the  Res- 
toration, lasting — ^with  the  Napoleonic  interrup- 
tion— ^from  1814  to  1830,  it  seemed  to  the  de- 

10 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

luded  that  the  Bourbons  were  coming  into  their 
own  again.  Even  before  nltra-royalism  as- 
cended the  throne  in  1824,  in  the  person  of  the 
once  dashing  and  always  stubborn  Charles  X, 
there  began  a  pseudo-renaissance  of  the  An- 
cient Regime,  which  increased  the  influence  of 
courtiers  and  clerics.  Naturally  enough,  edu- 
cation took  on  a  coloring  more  distinctly  ec- 
clesiastical than  in  the  days  of  Napoleon. 
Priests  and  monks,  flocking  back  to  their  posts, 
took  up  the  task  of  molding  the  mind  of  the 
young  to  loyalty  toward  the  Church  and  the 
legitimate  monarchy.  Warmed  to  the  fight  by 
the  sunshine  of  royal  favor,  they  attacked  the 
monopoly  of  the  Napoleonic  University,  un- 
der whose  baleful  influence,  so  Chateaubriand 
claimed,  the  youth  of  France  were  becoming  ir- 
religious, debauched  and  contemptuous  of  the 
domestic  virtues.^  This  monopoly  they  did  not 
succeed  in  destroying;  but  they  brought  it  un- 
der clerical  control.^  In  general  it  seemed  as  if 
the  youth  of  France  were  to  be  made  ^ '  as  royal- 
ist as  Charles  X,  as  good  Catholics  as  Saint 
Louis,  as  orthodox  as  Bossuet. ' '  ^ 

^  Buisson,  ete. :    La  Lutte  Scolaire,  p.  43. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  51  ff. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  74. 

11 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

Nevertheless  the  leaven  of  democracy  was 
working,  and  the  anger  of  the  bourgeoisie  was 
growing.  The  July  Ordinances  brought  the 
downfall  of  Charles  X;  and  Louis  Philippe  of 
the  House  of  Orleans  took  possession  of  the 
royal  armchair,  to  remain  until  1848.  Though 
an  advance  along  the  road  of  democracy, 
the  new  monarchy  by  no  means  marked  the 
triumph  of  liberty,  equality  and  fraternity. 
Though  the  atmosphere  was  Voltairian,  there 
was  no  thought  of  giving  free  play  to  the  forces 
of  irreligion  or  of  turning  over  the  control  of 
the  state  to  extreme  republicans.  In  fact  the 
reign  was  a  **  *just  mean'  between  democracy 
and  legitimism. ' '  ^  Hence  that  great  educa- 
tional measure,  the  law  of  1833,  did  not  estab- 
lish the  entire  system  of  public  education  which 
the  Eevolution  had  projected;  nor  did  it  de- 
stroy completely  the  influence  of  clericalism 
over  the  school.  It  did,  however,  place  on  the 
communes,  and  indirectly  on  the  state,  the  re- 
sponsibility for  maintaining  primary  schools,^ 
though  only  the  children  of  the  very  poor  were 
to   be   taught   gratuitously.     The   number   of 

^  Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  X,  p.  479. 
-  Guerard :     French  Civilization  in  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury, p.  234. 

12 


HISTOEICAL  SKETCH 

lay  teachers — ^Svretclied  little  pedants,'*  Mon- 
talembert  called  them — was  thus  increased, 
though  parish  priests  shared  with  civil  officials 
the  supervision  of  state  schools,^  in  which,  also, 
was  to  be  given  religious  instruction. ^  The 
law  tended  toward  the  democratization  of  edu- 
cation, toward  the  extension  of  the  civil  au- 
thority in  this  field,  at  the  expense  of  the 
Church.  But  it  was  a  compromise,  and  being 
a  compromise,  it  served  to  buttress  the  July 
Monarchy.^ 

The  years  that  followed  the  downfall  of 
Louis  Philippe  in  the  Kevolution  of  1848  wit- 
nessed not  only  the  development  of  the  power 
of  Napoleon  III,  but  also  the  groAvth  of  clerical 
influence.     The  little  man  with  the   glorious 

^  Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  X,  p.  490. 

2  Compayre :    History  of  Pedagogy,  p.  524. 

'  Guizot,  father  of  the  act,  believed  that  "  ^the  hopes  of 
religion,  together  with  the  enlightenment  given  by  a  system 
of  instruction  controlled  by  religious  belief,  would  be  the 
best  means  of  arresting  moral  degeneration  and  the  dangers 
to  which  the  revolutionary  classes,  and  in  consequence  of 
class  demands,  the  whole  of  society,  were  exposed.' "  Cam- 
bridge Modem  History,  Vol.  X,  p.  490.  But  "these  national 
schools  must  respect  that  religious  liberty  which  the  nation 
professed.  The  wishes  of  parents  were  to  be  ascertained 
and  followed  in  all  that  concerned  their  children's  attend- 
ance at  the  religious  instruction."  Arnold :  Popular  Educa- 
tion in  France,  p.  52. 

13 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

name,  imitating  the  policy  of  his  admired  un~ 
cle,  planned  to  use  the  clergy  to  buttress  his 
throne.  Favors  were  scattered  among  them 
with  lavish  hand  and  it  was  not  hard  to  under- 
stand why  *Hhe  men  in  black  had  grown  so 
amiable. ' '  ^  Furthermore,  the  bloody  insur- 
rection of  June,  1848,  had  brought  a  reaction 
against  Socialism  and  toward  religious  ortho- 
doxy. The  frightened  bourgeoisie,  realizing  to 
what  dangers  novel  theories  might  lead,  were 
inclined  to  take  refuge  under  the  protecting 
arm  of  Mother  Church,  and  listened  more  will- 
ingly than  in  earlier  days  to  the  pleas  of  the 
clerics  for  *  liberty"  of  education. 

Out  of  this  atmosphere  developed  the  reac- 
tionary Loi  Falloux  and  other  educational 
measures  of  the  new  era.  ^'  ^ Three  facts,'  says 
M.  Liard,  ^are  bound  together  like  the  terms 
of  a  syllogism  in  the  short  public  career  of  M. 
de  Falloux.  The  closing  of  the  national  work- 
shops causes  the  upheaval  of  June.  The  Days 
of  June  strike  the  bourgeoisie  with  terror.  The 
terrified  bourgeoisie  vote  the  law  of  1850  as  a 
measure  of  social  preservation. '  "  -     The  Loi 

1  Cambridge  Modern  Histoiy,  Vol.  XI,  pp.  295-296. 

2  Guerard :  French  Civilization  in  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury, p.  235. 

14 


HISTOEICAL  SKETCH 

Falloux  abolished  the  Napoleonic  University, 
whose  power  in  the  field  of  education  the  Cath- 
olics had  long  attacked.  *'The  bishops  were 
ex-officio  members  of  the  academic  councils,  and 
their  authority  therein  was  really  greater  than 
that  of  the  rectors  themselves.  Catholic  schools 
could  be  endowed  and  subsidized  by  the  local 
authorities  and  by  the  State.  ...  In  elemen- 
tary education  the  letter  of  affiliation  ...  of 
a  friar  or  a  nun  was  accepted  instead  of  a  quali- 
fying certificate. ' '  ^  In  spite  of  the  fact  that 
the  right  to  grant  degrees  still  remained  a  state 
monopoly,^  the  Church  might  well  rejoice  over 
its  increased  power  to  influence  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  youth  of  France. 

Directly  as  well  as  indirectly  the  school  was 
used  to  fortify  the  position  of  Napoleon  III. 
During  the  years  1851  to  1856  every  teacher  was 
obliged  to  swear  allegiance  to  him.^  Children 
were  to  be  brought  up  in  loyalty  to  the  Emperor 
as  they  had  once  been  brought  up  in  loyalty  to 
his  uncle.  Thus  the  school  was  once  more  called 
to  the  service  of  the  throne  and  the  altar;  and 
the  influence  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  gen- 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  236-237. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  237. 

3  Ibid. 

15 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

eration  reared  under  such  auspices  survived  to 
trouble  the  anti-imperial,  anti-clerical  states- 
men of  the  Third  Eepublic. 

The  ideals  and  aims  of  the  government  under 
which  France  has  now  lived  for  more  than 
forty-five  years  have  been  very  different  from 
those  of  the  Second  Empire.  The  tragedy  of 
the  Franco-German  "War  at  once  saddened  and 
awakened  the  nation.  Mourning  the  loss  of  its 
ancient  glory,  the  country  nevertheless  set  to 
work  sternly  and  resolutely  to  recuperate  its 
weakened  strength  and  to  prepare  to  defend  it- 
self adequately  against  another  possible  inva- 
sion. Many  patriots,  too,  dreamed  of  revanche 
and  looked  forward  to  the  day  when  Alsace 
and  Lorraine  should  be  brought  back  again  to 
the  mother  country.  If  their  hopes  in  that  di- 
rection have  not  been  fulfilled  they  have  found 
cause  for  pride  in  that  successful  colonial  policy 
on  which  France  has  embarked  and  which  has 
done  so  much  to  restore  the  prestige  of  former 
days.  The  vigor  and  the  ambitions  of  the 
French  people  did  not  die  in  1871. 

But  the  state  has  not  had  merely  to  gird  up 
its  loins  for  battle  and  for  conquest ;  it  has  had 
as  well  the  task  of  establishing  on  a  firm  basis 
the  republican  ideal.    It  has  had  to  complete  the 

16 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

work  of  the  Revolution  of  1789.  It  has  had  to 
make  the  ideals  of  liberty,  equality  and  fra- 
ternity mean  more  than  they  had  meant  during 
nearly  three-quarters  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
The  Republic  has  taken  Reason  as  its  guide  and 
has  attempted  sincerely  to  live  by  Reason. 
Hence  it  has  had  to  combat  the  national  ten- 
dency of  the  French  people  to  hero-worship,  and 
has  had  to  guard  against  the  restoration  of 
some  one  of  the  dynasties  formerly  governing 
France,  as  well  as  against  the  exaltation  of  a 
new  dictator.  It  has  had  to  contend  against  the 
Catholic  Church,  which  would  have  the  people 
live  not  by  the  light  of  Reason,  but  by  that  of 
spiritual  authority.  On  the  other  hand,  while 
standing  for  the  principles  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution it  has  yet  had  to  curb  the  excesses  of  the 
revolutionary  spirit.  The  world  has  just  begun 
to  realize  how  well  the  Third  Republic  has  car- 
ried its  burdens,  how  zealously  it  has  set  itself 
to  the  fulfillment  of  its  ideals. 

The  educational  system  of  the  country  did  not 
at  first  respond  to  these  new  forces  which  were 
beginning  to  dominate  the  life  of  the  nation. 
For  more  than  a  decade  the  school  remained 
almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Church,  in- 
culcating in  the  rising  generation  those  beliefs 

17 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

and  ideals  for  whicli  the  Church  stood.  In 
the  early  eighties,  however,  the  government 
usurped  (or  shall  we  say  ^'resumed''?)  control 
over  education,  and  in  later  years  completed 
the  work  of  making  instruction  almost  a  state 
monopoly.  For  some  thirty-five  years,  then, 
the  school  has  attempted  to  mold  the  mind  of 
France  to  an  acceptance  of  the  principles  and 
purposes  of  the  Third  Eepublic.  There  has  not, 
indeed,  been  entire  agreement  in  regard  to  these 
principles  and  purposes;  the  pacificism  which 
was  a  natural  outcome  of  certain  of  the  theories 
of  the  Eevolution,  for  example,  has  conflicted 
with  the  nationalism  which  was  a  natural  out- 
growth of  the  Franco-German  War.  Liberty 
of  thought  has  excluded  complete  uniformity  in 
political  instruction.  Nevertheless  it  may  be 
emphatically  asserted  that  the  school  of  the 
Third  Eepublic  has  been  a  powerful  and  effec- 
tive instrument  in  inculcating  in  the  oncoming 
generations  of  Frenchmen  sentiments  of  pa- 
triotism and  loyalty. 

Thus  education  in  France  from  the  time  of 
Louis  XIV  to  the  present  day  has  experienced 
changes  corresponding  to  changes  in  the  gov- 
ernment and  ideals  of  the  state.  Under  the 
influence  of  the  court  life  at  Versailles  instruc- 

18 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

tion  for  the  upper  classes  and  for  those  who 
imitated  the  upper  classes  was  characterized  by 
a  training  in  etiquette  and  carefully  prescribed 
forms.  Under  Napoleon  I  it  became  militaris- 
tic and  imperialistic,  aiming  to  inculcate  ad- 
miration for,  and  loyalty  to,  the  conqueror. 
During  the  sixty-five  years  following  his  fall, 
when  the  country  was  at  heart  uncertain  as  to 
what  government  and  what  social  forces  it 
would  definitely  support,  it  responded  now  to 
Catholicism  and  monarchy  or  imperialism,  now 
in  a  tentative  way  to  the  principles  of  the  Revo- 
lution of  1789.  Finally  it  has  come  definitely 
to  mirror  the  policies  of  the  Third  Republic. 

I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  education  has 
been  shaped  entirely  by  national  forces.  There 
are,  of  course,  certain  subjects  in  the  curricu- 
lum which  remain  comparatively  unaffected  by 
political  and  social  vicissitudes.  Furthermore 
the  tendency  of  a  dominant  type  of  instruction 
is  to  reflect  the  principal  characteristics  of  the 
whole  civilization  from  which  it  originates. 
Thus  education  in  the  Middle  Ages  was  prima- 
rily religious,  with  a  goodly  proportion  of  ath- 
letic and  military  training  for  the  fighting  noble. 
At  a  later  date  the  Renaissance,  Reformation 
and  Counter-Reformation  united  to  emphasize 

19 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

the  teaching  of  Latin  and  Greek;  for  the  clas- 
sics met  the  religious,  cultural,  and  certain  of 
the  utilitarian  needs  of  the  time.  In  a  practical, 
commercial,  bourgeois  age  there  will  be  strong 
pressure  for  industrial  and  vocational  educa- 
tion. The  school,  then,  is  not  bounded  entirely 
by  national  lines. 

Furthermore,  tradition  and  custom  have  an 
important  influence  on  education.  By  reason  of 
their  power  a  given  type  of  instruction  tends  to 
survive  long  after  the  forces  through  which  it 
originated  have  ceased  to  be  vital.  Thus  it  was 
that  the  classics  maintained  in  the  nineteenth 
century  a  position  in  the  English  public  schools 
entirely  disproportionate  to  their  value  to  so- 
ciety. English  conservatism  magnified  their 
importance.  Similarly  a  new  social  force  may 
knock  for  a  long  time  at  the  door  of  the  school 
before  being  allowed  to  enter.  Every  student 
of  recent  educational  history  knows  how  hard  it 
has  been  for  the  secular,  scientific  spirit  to 
affect  the  curriculum  in  any  marked  degree. 
Every  thoughtful  observer  of  contemporary 
conditions  knows  of  the  struggle  now  going  on 
in  the  United  States  to  free  the  school  from  the 
influence  of  tradition  and  to  adjust  it  to  what 
are  believed  to  be  the  needs  of  today.     The 

20 


HISTOEICAL  SKETCH 

school  system  of  every  country  has  been  encum- 
bered with  survivals. 

With  the  growth  of  national  consciousness, 
however,  the  influence  of  custom  and  conserva- 
tism over  the  school  system  has  been  lessened. 
Education  has  tended  to  become  a  political  in- 
strument, the  study  of  it  almost  a  branch  of 
political  science.  This  is  especially  true  of  Ger- 
many, to  whose  efficiency  education  has  con- 
tributed to  a  degree  not  fully  appreciated  even 
yet  by  the  rest  of  the  world ;  but  it  is  also  true 
of  France.  Thus  Jules  Ferry,  the  powerful 
prime  minister  who  did  so  much  to  wrest  con- 
trol of  the  school  from  the  hands  of  the  Church, 
held  instruction  to  be  ^^an  affair  of  state,  a 
public  service. ' '  ^  His  view,  according  to  a  re- 
cent writer,  was  that  the  state  should  be  *^the 
supreme  intelligence  which  ought  to  think  for 
the  entire  nation  and  to  form  minds  according 
to  a  type  proposed  by  itself."  ^  This  ideal  has, 
in  some  measure,  been  realized. 

Hence  it  follows  that  a  study  of  education 
under  the  Third  Kepublic  furnishes  an  excel- 
lent approach  to  an  understanding  of  the  na- 

^Vaujany:  L'Ecole  Primaire  en  France  sous  la  Troi- 
sieme  Republique,  p.  2. 

2  Ibid. 

21 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

tional  psychology  of  modern  France ;  ^  for  tlie 
national  consciousness  expresses  itself  through 
the  school  as  perhaps  through  no  other  insti- 
tution. From  the  school,  therefore,  far  more 
than  from  the  opinions  of  individual  writers, 
one  can  learn  what  the  factors  dominant  in  the 
life  of  the  country  really  are.  The  student  of 
social  psychology  must  be  careful,  however,  not 
to  attribute  to  national  ideals  and  purposes 
elements  in  the  educational  system  which  are 
really  due  to  the  general  influences  of  modern 
civilization  or  to  those  of  custom  and  tradition. 
The  little  textbooks  of  the  French  schools, 
then,  are  extremely  significant.  They  are  not 
written  solely  for  the  torture  of  rebellious 
youth,  nor  simply  to  prepare  the  child  to  earn 
a  living  or  enjoy  rationally  the  leisure  hours 
of  later  years.  They  form  a  part  of  that  edu- 
cational renaissance  whose  significance  it  is  as 

^  Similarly''  the  history  of  education  furnishes  an  excellent 
but  much  neglected  approach  to  an  understanding  of  the 
Zeitgeist.  If  education  reflects  the  dominant  characteristics 
of  the  civilization  or  civilizations  from  which  it  grows,  then 
it  follows  that  from  a  study  of  a  given  type  of  education 
one  is  in  a  position  to  learn  something  of  the  underlying 
factors  of  the  civilization  from  which  it  springs.  The 
method  must  be  used  guardedly,  however,  because  of  certain 
limitations,  especially  because  of  the  survivals  with  which 
education  is  always  encumbered. 

22 


HISTOEICAL  SKETCH 

important  for  the  historian  to  grasp,  as  it  is 
for  him  to  understand  the  diplomacy  and  the 
preparations  for  military  defense  that  preceded 
the  present  conflict.  Though  these  books  have 
been  the  work  of  individual  writers  and  have 
been  stamped  by  individual  opinions,  they  have 
on  the  whole  safeguarded  the  dominant  ideals 
and  gained  support  for  the  dominant  purposes 
of  the  Third  Eepublic.  From  them,  then,  we 
can  learn  something  of  national  attitudes.  From 
them,  too,  we  can  learn  something  of  the 
part  played  by  education  in  fortifying  France 
against  internal  and  external  crises.  They  have 
been  used  to  mold  the  psychology  of  the  na- 
tion. 


CHAPTER  II 
MOLDING  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

1.     THE  LESSON   OF  1870  AND  THE  NATIONALIZATION 
OF  EDUCATION 

In  the  pleasant,  prosperous  days  that  pre- 
ceded the  present  conflict  the  average  American 
was  apt  to  judge  France  by  Paris  and  Paris  by 
the  boulevards.  He  thought  of  the  French  peo- 
ple as  frothy,  sentimental,  vivacious,  fond  of 
wine  and  song,  only  too  fond  of  the  third  mem- 
ber of  the  famous  trio.  The  courage  of  daring 
he  might  indeed  attribute  to  them,  but  not 
the  greater  heroism  of  sustained  effort.  Cyni- 
cism, pessimism,  irreligion  and  contempt  for 
virtue  he  believed  to  be  characteristic  not 
merely  of  the  frequenters  of  cafes,  but  of  a 
large  number  of  writers  and  men  in  public  life 
as  well.  *^  France  is  decadent, '^  was  the  dic- 
tum of  the  American  traveler  returning  from 
his  three  months '  tour  of  Europe,  bringing  with 
him,  perhaps,  memories  of  his  own  contribu- 
tions to  that  decadence. 

24 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

The  great  war,  however,  has  revealed  a  new 
France.  When  the  call  came  her  sons  were 
ready,  grimly  resolved  to  stem  the  great  Teu- 
tonic tidal  wave  before  it  engulfed  Paris. 
Quietly  and  soberly  they  have  undertaken  as 
a  simple  duty  the  task  of  driving  the  invader 
from  French  soil.  They  have  borne  without 
flinching  the  monotonously  awful  strain  of 
trench  fighting.  They  have  supplemented  the 
dash  and  daring  inherited  from  ancient  days  by 
a  power  of  endurance,  the  depth  of  which  has 
not  yet  been  completely  tested.  If  the  com- 
manders have  proved  themselves  capable  of 
handling  the  great  problems  presented  by  the 
German  attack,  the  conunon  soldier  has  shown 
an  intelligence  and  a  loyalty  which  have  moved 
the  world  to  wonder.  While  England  has  been 
striving  to  remove  the  incubus  of  national  ig- 
norance and  to  arouse  the  lower  classes  to  a 
realization  of  the  danger  of  a  disruption  of  her 
empire,  France  has  presented  a  united  front, 
her  masses  seriously  conscious  of  the  task  that 
lies  before  them,  and  determined  at  all  costs 
to  perform  that  task  loyally  and  efficiently. 
France  has  demonstrated  that  a  democracy  can 
handle  effectively  the  problem  of  national  de- 
fense. 

25 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

Very  different,  this,  from  the  conduct  of  the 
nation  in  1870.  Then  all  was  noise,  bustle  and 
confusion,  the  prelude  to  a  great  disaster. 
*'Have  arrived  at  Belfort,'*  telegraphed  Gen- 
eral Michel  July  21.  *' Can't  find  my  bri- 
gade; can't  find  the  general  of  the  Division. 
What  shall  I  do?  Don't  know  where  my  regi- 
ments are."^  Soldiers  were  transported  from 
Metz  or  Strassburg  to  Brittany,  even  to  Al- 
giers, only  to  be  returned  to  their  regiments 
close  to  the  points  from  which  they  had  started. 
Staff  ofScers  were  frequently  out  of  touch  with 
the  army  and  had  little  or  no  practical  knowl- 
edge of  their  duties.^ 

In  contrast  with  the  efficiency  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  Prussians,  common  soldiers  as 
well  as  great  commanders,  the  ignorance  and 
stupidity  of  the  French  were  appalling.  To 
ignorance,  more  than  to  any  other  cause,  Gam- 
betta  later  attributed  the  disasters  of  the  tragic 
year ;  nor  was  he  the  only  one  to  realize  at  that 
time  the  baleful  effects  of  unintelligence.^    The 

^  Quoted  in  Hazen :    Europe  Since  1815,  p.  295. 

2  Cambridge  Modem  History,  Vol.  XI,  p.  582. 

'  Gambetta :  Discours  et  Plaidoyers  Politiques,  Vol.  II, 
p.  252.  "Eh  bien !  dominant  toutes  les  autres  causes  de  nos 
defaillances,  de  nos  desastres,  il  y  a  Fignoranee,  cette  igno- 
rance particuliere,  cette  ignorance  double,  qui  est  propre  a 

26 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

war  party  in  Paris  who  precipitated  the  bung- 
ling, frothy  France  of  the  Second  Empire  into 
conflict  with  the  highly  trained  Prussia  of  the 
man  of  blood  and  iron,  committed  an  act  of 
terrible  rashness  and  folly. 

Whence  came  the  dogged  and  disciplined 
spirit  of  resistance,  characteristic  of  the  France 
of  today?  First  of  all  it  must  have  developed 
from  the  natural  reaction  of  a  proud  and  sen- 
sitive nation  against  the  tragedy  of  her  over- 
whelming defeat.  Napoleon  III,  sitting  dis- 
pirited and  dejected  in  front  of  a  roadside  cot- 
tage, on  the  morning  after  the  battle  of  Sedan, 
a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  Prussians,  epit- 
omized the  departed  glory  of  the  country  over 
which  he  had  ruled.  That  glory  must  be  re- 
gained by  the  Third  Eepublic,  since  the  Empire 
had  failed  to  maintain  it.  Sadly  and  wearily, 
therefore,  but  with  true-hearted  determination, 
the  nation  set  to  work  to  rid  herself  of  internal 
weaknesses  and  to  retrieve  her  position  in  the 

la  France";  Breal:  Quelques  Mots  sur  I'Instruction  Pub- 
lique  en  France  (published  1872),  p.  122.  "Le  courage  de 
la  nation  s'est  montre  tel  qu'on  I'avait  connu  en  tous  les 
temps;  mais  on  a  ete  effraj^e  de  trouver  une  telle  inex- 
perience de  pensee,  un  si  grand  desarroi  intellectuel.  II 
est  penible  de  dire,  mais  il  faut  avoir  le  courage  de  dire 
que  les  AUemands  nous  trouvaient  naifs." 

27 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

world.  Fear  of  another  attack  from  her  pow- 
erful neighbor  stimulated  her  resoution  to  make 
herself  strong  and  ever  watchful.  The  Treaty 
of  Frankfort  in  1871  had  cost  her  ^ve  billion 
francs  and  the  better  part  of  two  of  her  most 
valuable  provinces.  The  results  of  another  suc- 
cessful invasion  would  be  too  terrible  to  con- 
template. Hence  as  a  first  means  to  strengthen 
herself  and  insure  her  safety  she  established 
by  law  (1872)  a  five-year  period  of  compul- 
sory military  service  for  all  but  certain  ex- 
empted classes  of  her  citizens.  Never  again, 
she  determined,  would  she  be  found  wanting  in 
military  efficiency  as  she  had  been  in  1870. 

Nevertheless  it  must  not  be  taken  for  granted 
that  the  memory  of  defeat  and  of  its  conse- 
quences, with  the  anticipatory  fear  of  another 
disaster,  would  of  themselves  have  sufficiently 
sustained  the  national  will  in  preparing  the 
country  adequately  for  defense  against  possible 
aggression.  The  laws  enforcing  compulsory 
military  service  have  borne  hard  upon  the  peo- 
ple. When  the  bill  of  1913,  increasing  the  pe- 
riod from  two  years  to  three,^  was  introduced, 

^  The  law  of  1889  reduced  the  term  of  active  service  to 
three  years;  that  of  1905  lowered  it  to  two,  though  exemp- 
tions were  abolished. 

28 


MOLDINa  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

it  met  with  rancorous  opposition  from  Social- 
ists, from  certain  thoughtful  men  of  the  edu- 
cated classes,  and  even  from  many  of  those  ac- 
tually serving  in  the  army,  who  looked  on  the 
increase  as  an  almost  intolerable  oppression.^ 
In  a  democracy  such  burdens  are  borne  only 
with  difficulty,  and  as  the  memories  of  the  loss 
of  Alsace-Lorraine  receded  further  and  further 
into  the  past,  as  prosperity  brought  comfort 
and  carelessness,  it  would  not  have  been  sur- 
prising if  the  country  had  thrown  off  a  large 
part  of  its  burden  of  military  preparedness 
with  the  accompanying  taxation.  The  renais- 
sance of  the  national  spirit  under  the  Third  Ee- 
public  has  been  her  great  safeguard  against 
this  danger;  and  in  this  renaissance  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  education  has  been  the 
chief  factor. 

Confidence  in  education  as  a  means  of  re- 
generating the  national  life  followed  hard  upon 
the  heels  of  the  disasters  of  the  War  of  1870. 
Gambetta,  advocating  compulsory  military 
service  and  a  more  rigorous  application  of  the 

^  "The  Three  Yeai-s'  Bill  in  France,"  Living  Age,  for  July 
26,  1913,  Vol.  278,  pp.  245-248.  "The  great  bulk  of 
Frenchmen,"  says  the  writer  of  this  article,  "are  in  a  mood 
which  a  gust  might  turn  against  the  national  duty  at  this 
moment." 

29 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

national  sovereignty,  placed  above  these  **an 
education  truly  national,  that  is  to  say,  an  edu- 
cation imposed  on  all.''  ^^^'This  land  must  be 
rebuilt,"  said  he,  *4ts  customs  renovated,  the 
evil  which  is  the  cause  of  all  our  ills,  ignorance, 
must  be  made  to  disappear;  there  is  but  one 
remedy,  the  education  of  all. "  ^ 

It  was  largely  from  their  conquerors  that  this 
lesson  was  learned.  Prussia,  in  transforming 
the  spirit  of  the  nation  after  the  battle  of  Jena, 
had  begun  a  reorganization  of  education  with 
the  aim  of  making  over  the  people  and  bringing 
back  the  state  to  its  former  proud  position.* 
*'The  state  must  regain  by  intellectual  force 
what  it  has  lost  in  physical  force,"  said  the 
King  of  Prussia  in  1807 ;  *  and  the  subsequent 
development  of  the  power  of  his  realm  has 
more  than  justified  his  anticipations  of  the 
efficacy  of  instruction.  Keen  observers  like 
Gabriel  Monod  testified  to  the  intelligence 
of  the  German  common  soldier  in  the  "War  of 
1870. 

**I  knew   before   the   campaign,"   he    said, 

^  Gambetta :    Discours,  etc.,  p.  387. 

2  Hanotaux,  G. :    Contemporary  France,  Vol.  II,  p.  719. 
^  Breal :     Quelques  Mots  sur  I'lnstruction  Publique  en 
France,  p.  2;  Duruy:    Pour  la  France,  p.  11. 
*  Breal,  op.  cit.,  p.  2. 

30 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

shortly  after  the  war,  **how  high  was  the  level 
of  instruction  in  Germany;  but  I  did  not  sus- 
pect how  far  this  universal  instruction  had  de- 
veloped. Almost  all  the  soldiers  had  with  them 
notebooks  in  which  they  took  notes  on  the  cam- 
paign ;  they  loved  to  read  and  all  knew  how  to 
write.  But  what  astonished  me  most  was  the 
lucidity  and  the  stability  of  their  spirit.  With 
almost  all  I  could  converse  with  interest,  and 
the  accuracy  of  the  information  which  they  gave 
me  proved  that  the  critical  spirit,  which  consti- 
tutes the  glory  of  German  science,  has  insen- 
sibly penetrated  all  ranks  of  society.  When 
they  gave  an  account  of  a  battle,  they  knew 
how  to  distinguish  that  of  which  they  had  been 
eye-witnesses  from  that  which  they  had  learned 
at  second  hand,  but  with  guaranties  of  certitude, 
and  from  that  which  they  knew  only  by  hear- 
say.'' ^  French  statesmen  accepted  the  dictum 
that  it  was  the  Prussian  schoolmaster  who  won 
at  Sedan;-  and  it  was  pointed  out  that  ''by  the 
school  .  .  .  the  character  of  a  nation  can  be 

^  Ibid.,  pp.  397-398,  quoting  Monod :  Allemands  et  Fran- 
Qais ;  "  *We  have  been  beaten  by  adversaries,'  said  Gam- 
betta  in  1872,  Vho  had  on  their  side  foresight,  discipline, 
and  science.' "    Hanotaux,  op.  eit..  Vol.  II,  p.  719. 

-  Guerard :  French  Civilization  in  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury, p.  239. 

31 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

molded. ' '  ^  Out  of  the  black  depths  of  the 
tragedy  of  1870  has  developed  the  new 
spirit  of  intelligent  patriotism  in  the  French 
schools. 

As  long  as  instruction  was  not  entirely  gratu- 
itous, however,  as  long  as  it  was  not  compul- 
sory, and  as  long  as  the  state  school  was  pri- 
marily under  the  influence  of  the  Church,  it  was 
impossible  to  make  full  use  of  education  as  an 
instrument  of  national  regeneration.  It  was 
natural  and  consistent  that  the  religious  teach- 
ers should  pay  more  attention  to  the  principles 
of  Christianity  and  the  doctrines  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church  than  to  the  formation  of  a  psy- 
chology of  national  defense  and  loyalty  to  the 
Republic.  Furthermore,  the  clergy  favored  the 
reestablishment  of  monarchy.  Hence  Repub- 
lican leaders  bent  their  energies  for  many  years 
following  the  war  to  making  education  free, 
universal,  compulsory,  and  secular.  Their  ef- 
forts, at  first  not  very  successful,  owing  largely 
to  the  unsettled  internal  condition  of  the  coun- 
try, culminated  finally  in  the  passage  of  three 
important  law^s.  That  of  the  16th  of  June, 
1881,  made  instruction  absolutely  gratuitous  in 
all  the  public  primary  schools,  in  the  salles 

^Breal:    Instruction  Publiqiie,  p.  118. 

32 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

d'asile  and  in  the  primary  normal  schools.^  The 
act  of  the  28th  of  March,  1882,  established  the 
compulsory  principle  for  all  children  between 
the  ages  of  six  and  thirteen  years.^  It  also  for- 
bade any  religious  instruction  to  be  given  with- 
in the  walls  of  the  school,  at  the  same  time  with- 
drawing from  members  of  the  clergy  the  right 
to  inspect  schools,  conferred  on  them  by  the 
Loi  Falloux,^  The  law  of  1886  organized  pri- 
mary instruction,  public  and  private,  providing 
also  for  state  inspection  of  all  elementary 
schools,  including  those  of  religious  orders. 
Thus  by  making  education  universal  the  state 
was  in  a  position  to  raise  the  general  level  of 
the  intelligence  of  the  French  people ;  by  freeing 

^  Levasseur,  E. :  L'Instruction  Primaire  et  Profes- 
sionelle  en  France  sous  la  Troisieme  Repnblique,  p.  14. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  15.  Article  4  of  the  law  reads:  "L'instruction 
primaire  est  obligatoire  pour  les  enfants  des  deux  sexes 
ages  de  six  ans  revolus  a  treize  ans  revolus;  elle  pent  etre 
donnee  soit  dans  les  etablissements  d'instruction  primaire 
ou  secondaire,  soit  dans  les  ecoles  publiques  et  libres,  soit 
dans  les  families,  par  le  pere  de  famille  lui-meme  ou  par 
toute  personne  qu'il  aura  choisie." 

^  Ibid.  Article  2  reads :  "Les  ecoles  primaires  publiques 
vaqueront  un  jour  par  semaine,  en  outre  du  dimanche,  afin 
de  permettre  aux  parents  de  faire  donner,  s'ils  desirent,  a 
leurs  enfants  l'instruction  religieuse,  en  dehors  des  edifices 
seolaires." 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

the  school  from  clerical  influence,  it  could  use 
that  institution  more  fully  than  ever  before  to 
aid  in  carrying  out  national  aims  and  ideals. 


II.     THE  TEACHING  OF  PATRIOTISM 

In  molding  the  psychology  of  defense  against 
aggression  it  was  not  enough,  of  course,  that 
the  state  should  simply  stand  sponsor  for  the 
education  of  every  boy  and  girl  between  the 
ages  of  six  and  thirteen  years.  A  new  spirit 
must  be  infused  into  the  youth  of  France.  Their 
ideals  must  be  unified ;  they  must  be  led  to  real- 
ize the  gravity  of  their  country's  problems.  In 
other  words,  a  staunch  and  true  devotion  to  the 
Fatherland,  sufficient  to  weather  any  crisis, 
must  be  inculcated  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
the  oncoming  generations.  Therefore  direct  in- 
struction in  patriotism  has  been  given  in  the 
schools,  which  has  revolved  chiefly  around  the 
following  points:  (1)  the  love  of  France;  (2) 
the  military  spirit  and  the  obligatory  service; 
and  (3)  the  duty  of  cultivating  physical  cour- 
age. Furthermore,  (4)  the  children  have 
learned  to  know  that  taxation  is  necessary  to 
support  the  army;  (5)  they  have  been  given 
some  definite  information  in  regard  to  the  state 

34 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

of  the  national  defenses;  and  (6)  certain  writ- 
ers have  pointed  out  to  them  the  perils  of  de- 
population in  a  country  menaced  by  increas- 
ingly powerful  neighbors. 

Each  of  these  points  will  be  considered  in 
turn.  In  general  the  aim  has  been  to  create  in 
the  children  a  rational  patriotism,  rather  than 
an  unthinking,  emotional  attachment  to  the  land 
of  their  birth.  It  has  therefore  been  the  task 
of  teachers  and  of  the  writers  of  textbooks  to 
develop  ideals  in  the  pupils,  and  to  support 
these  with  arguments.  It  has  been  the  duty  of 
the  government  to  make  the  instruction  sys- 
tematic. The  teaching  has  indeed  had  its  weak- 
nesses and  failures,  but  on  the  whole  it  has 
fostered  successfully  the  new  spirit  in  France. 

A  glow  of  ardor  suffuses  the  formal,  precise 
pages  of  the  textbook  when  the  author  deals 
with  ^^La  Patrie.''  Here,  at  any  rate,  he  can 
give  full  vent  to  his  enthusiasm. 

^^Do  you  know  what  the  Fatherland  is? 
It  is  the  house  where  your  mother  has 
carried  you  in  her  arms.  It  is  the  lawn  on 
which  you  play  your  joyous  games.  It  is 
the  school  where  you  receive  your  first  in- 
struction. It  is  the  town  hall  where  floats 
the  flag  of  France.    It  is  the  cemetery  where 

35 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

your  ancestors  rest.  It  is  the  clock  which  you 
see  again  with  a  new  joy  on  each  return  to  the 
village.  It  is  the  fields  which  bear  the  traces 
of  the  labor  of  your  fathers.  It  is  the  hills,  the 
mountains  which  you  have  so  many  times 
climbed. 

*^Men  of  the  same  country  are  C07npat riots; 
they  form  a  great  family,  a  nation. 

*^The  thirty-seven  million  inhabitants  of 
France  constitute  the  French  family.  They 
have  the  same  history,  the  same  joys,  the  same 
hopes.  They  sorrow  over  the  reverses  of  their 
common  Fatherland,  and  take  pride  in  her  pros- 
perity; they  share  her  fortune,  good  or  bad."  ^ 

Love  of  France  constitutes  the  road  to  hap- 
piness ;  ^  more  than  that,  it  is  the  first  of  duties.^ 
^  *  The  Fatherland, ' '  says  Compayre,  ' '  is  the  na- 
tion which  you  should  love,  honor  and  serve 
with  all  the  strength  of  your  body,  with  all  the 
energy  and  all  the  devotion  of  your  soul.''* 
And  in  a  little  poem  a  father  thus  counsels  his 
son: 

^  Jost  et  Braeunig:    Lectures  Pratiques,  pp.  111-112. 

^Boniface:  Pour  le  Commencement  de  la  Classe  (gar- 
Qons),  p.  144. 

2  Catholic  texts  place  it  second.  See  Wirth :  Livre  de 
Lecture  Courante  des  Jeunes  Filles  Chretiennes. 

*  Elements  d'Instruction  Morale  et  Civique,  p.  56. 

36 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

Be  son  and  brother  to  the  end, 

My  joy  and  hope  enhance, 
But  lad,  be  sure  that  'fore  all  else 

You  place  the  love  of  France.^ 

One  author,  indeed,  reminds  us  of  the  Napo- 
leonic catechism  in  stating  that,  according  to  an 
ancient  writer,  to  love  and  serve  one's  coun- 
try is  one  of  the  means  of  honoring  the  Deity.^ 
Americans  are  too  apt  to  assume  that  pa- 
triotism is  a  plant  that  needs  no  watering,  that 
it  grows  of  itself;  but  the  more  intelligent 
French  schoolmaster  is  far  from  this  unwar- 
ranted assumption.  ^' There  are  people,''  says 
Compayre,  ^^who  say,  ^One  does  not  learn  to 
love  one's  country.'  They  deceive  themselves; 
one  learns  to  love  one's  country  as  one  learns 
anything  else. ' '  ^  Nor  is  it  sufficient,  according 
to  a  recent  writer,  simply  to  love  France ;  it  is 
necessary  to  know  why  one  loves  her.  Only 
through  such  knowledge  can  patriotism  rest  on 
a  sound  basis."^    Thus  by  instruction  the  ideal 

^From  "Tu  Seras  Soldat"  by  V.  de  Laprade,  quoted  in 
Jost  et  Braeunig:    Lectures  Pratiques,  p.  119. 

*Fouillee:    Les  Enfants  de  Marcel,  p.  73. 

'  Elements  d'Instruction  Morale  et  Civique,  p.  59 ;  Pontse- 
vrez:  Cours  de  Morale  Pratique,  p.  124,  puts  it  thus: 
"L'amour  de  la  patrie  est  naturel;  Teducation  le  fortifie." 

*  Duruy :   Pour  la  France,  p.  23.    "La  conclusion  de  tout 

37 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

of  devotion  to  the  Fatherland  is  implanted  and 
fostered  in  the  hearts  of  the  youth  of  France ;  ^ 
and  upon  this  foundation  is  reared  the  super- 
structure of  the  various  duties  which  patriot- 
ism entails.^ 

First  of  all  these  obligations  is  that  of  de- 
fending the  Fatherland  in  time  of  war.  Into 
the  heart  of  the  little  boy  sitting  on  the  bench 
of  the  village  school  is  instilled  the  ideal  of  de- 
fending his  country  as  he  would  his  family,  as 
he  would  his  mother.^     ''If  your  family  were 

ce  qui  precede  est  qu'il  ne  suffit  pas  d'aimer  sa  patrie,  mais 
qu'il  faut  encore  savoir  pourquoi  on  I'aime.  Le  patidotisme 
repose  alors  sur  une  base  plus  solide  que  I'instinet  seul." 

1  Le  Peyre :  Livret  d'Education  Morale,  pp.  22-23 ; 
Bataille:  Lectures  Frangaises,  pp.  177-17S;  ibid.,  p.  180; 
Boitel,  J.:  La  Recitation  (9  a  12  ans),  pp.  59-77;  ibid., 
(6  a  9  ans),  pp.  37-44;  Ibid.,  Trois  Annees,  etc.,  pp.  184- 
218;  Boniface:  Pour  le  Commencement  de  la  Classe,  pp.  37- 
38;  Lemoine:  Livret  d'Enseigiiement  Moral,  p.  24;  Manuel, 
G. :  Nouveau  Livre,  etc.,  p.  35;  Pontsevrez,  op.  cit.,  p.  140; 
Foncin,  M. :  L'Annee  Preparatoire  de  GeogTaphie,  p.  6 ; 
Devinat:  Livre  de  Lecture  et  de  Morale  (Cours  Moyen),  pp. 
46-61 ;  Barrau :  La  Patrie,  passim ;  Bedel,  J. :  L'Annee  En- 
fantine  de  Geographie,  p.  9;  Duruy:  Pour  la  France,  pas- 
sim ;  Martin  et  Lemoine :  Lectures  Choisies ;  Fautras  et  Vil- 
lain: L'Enseignement  Musical  a  I'Ecole  Primaire,  passim; 
etc. 

-  Compayre :  Elements  d'Instruction  Morale  et  Civique, 
p.  59. 

^De  Grandmaison;    Scenes,  p.  95. 

38 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

insulted,  attacked,  what  would  you  do?  You 
would  join  with  your  father  and  your  brothers 
to  defend  it  against  its  enemies.  Likewise  when 
the  Fatherland  is  menaced,  all  Frenchmen  rise 
to  defend  it  against  the  foreign  foe.''^  It  is 
not  war  for  war 's  sake  that  these  writers  teach. 
They  do  not  attempt  to  attract  the  support  of 
youth  to  a  policy  of  conquest  by  veiling  in  a 
mist  of  glory  the  miseries  and  horrors  of  bat- 
tle, or  by  cro^vning  the  bloody  head  of  Mars 
with  a  wreath  of  romance.^  Of  this  sort  of  pa- 
triotism they  had  had  their  fill  before  1870.^ 
Not  infrequently  a  writer  cautions  his  youth- 
ful readers  against  the  spirit  of  chauvinism,^ 
warning  them,  for  example,  against  too  keen 
a  susceptibility  to  slights  and  insults,  and  con- 
demning such  aggressions  as  those  of  Fran- 
cis I  against  Italy,  Louis  XIV  against  Holland, 
and  Napoleon  against  Europe.^    The  author  of 

*Jost  et  Braeimig:    Lectures  Pratiques,  p.  112. 

2  E.g.,  Madame  Fouillee's  book :  "Les  Enfants  de  Marcel," 
which  in  1896  was  in  its  seventieth  edition,  gives  a  vivid 
picture  of  campaign  life  in  the  Franco-German  War,  prais- 
ing the  soldier's  devotion  to  duty  in  the  midst  of  suffering 
and  tragedy. 

^Breal:    Instruction  Publique,  p.  117. 

*  E.g.,  Compayre,  op.  cit.,  p.  63. 

'Payot:    La  Morale  a  I'Ecole,  pp.  220-229. 
39 


PATKIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

a  recent  manual  bids  schoolboys  distinguish 
between  V esprit  militaire  and  V esprit  guerrier, 
the  former  being  right  and  necessary,  the  latter 
wrong  and  dangerous. 

^^  However  painful  the  sacrifice  may  be,  young 
people,  it  is  necessary  to  renounce  this  war-lov- 
ing spirit  {esprit  guerrier).  If  it  well  becomes 
the  youth  of  a  fiery  people,  consumed  with  the 
need  of  activity  and  expansion,  it  does  not  suit 
the  maturity  of  a  great  nation  like  our  own. 
He  who  has  reached  manhood  ought  not  to  have 
the  same  tastes  as  a  child.  It  is  the  same  for 
peoples,  who,  like  individuals,  pass  through  suc- 
cessive ages.  France  is  now  at  the  age  when 
the  serious  work  of  the  brain  is  being  substi- 
tuted for  violent  action,  when  impetuous  out- 
bursts should  give  place  to  reflection. 

^*Let  the  war-loving  spirit  yield  to  the  mili- 
tary spirit. 

^ '  The  military  spirit  is  that  of  a  people  firmly 
resolved  not  to  make  any  attempt  against  the 
independence  of  its  neighbors,  but  firmly  re- 
solved also  to  make  its  name  respected.  .  .  . 
The  military  spirit  will  see  to  all  the  needs  of 
our  security,  because  it  will  bring  us  the  solid 
virtues  that  render  a  people  invincible."^ 

'Duruy:    Pour  la  France,  pp.  30-32. 
40 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOaY  OF  DEFENSE 

In  this  book,  as  in  many  others  for  the  use 
of  children,  there  is  expressed  a  foreboding, 
even  a  belief,  that  a  day  of  conflict  must  come, 
a  day  when  the  envy  or  jealousy  of  some  other 
power  will  result  in  an  attack  on  the  Father- 
land. Thus  a  poet,  popular  in  the  schools  of 
France,  sings: 

Tu  seras  soldat,  cher  petit! 
Tu  sais,  mon  enfant,  si  je  t'aime! 
Mais  ton  pere  t'en  avertit, 
C'est  lui  qui  t'armera  lui-meme. 

Quand  le  tambour  battra  demain, 
Que  ton  ame  soit  aguerrie ; 
Car  j'irai  t'offrir  de  ma  main 
A  notre  mere,  la  Patrie.^ 

Indeed  the  general  tone  of  patriotic  instruc- 
tion in  France  is  one  of  solemn  expectation, 
rather  than  of  satisfied  retrospection  as  in  the 
United  States.  ^^Be  ready!"  is  the  advice 
given  by  their  mentors  to  the  youth  of  France.- 
^^When  ^The  Day'  arrives,  be  prepared  to  en- 
dure hunger,  thirst  and  cold  for  the  sake  of  the 
Fatherland.  Be  ready  to  die  rather  than  aban- 
don your  posf  ^  These  and  other  precepts  have 

1  V.  de  Laprade :     "Tu  Seras  Soldat." 

2  Payot :    La  Morale  a  TEcole,  p.  225. 

3  Aulard  et  Bayet :  Morale  et  Instruction  Civique,  Part  I, 
p.  51. 

41 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

helped  to  keep  alive  in  the  minds  of  French- 
men the  possibilities  of  another  war,  and  have 
shown  them  how  serious  were  to  be  their  own 
obligations  in  the  day  of  crisis. 

Love  of  country  and  a  stern  sense  of  duty 
must,  of  course,  be  supplemented  in  war  time 
by  physical  bravery.  Partly  because  of  this 
fact  the  children  have  been  led  to  look  upon 
courage  as  one  of  the  highest  of  virtues. 
Through  story  and  through  precept  it  is 
taught.^  A  reading  book  tells  the  tale  of  a 
brave  little  lad  who  saves  a  baby  from  being 
killed  by  a  mad  dog.^  A  manual  of  moral  in- 
struction points  out  the  misery  of  trembling 
cowardice ;  ^  and  both  these  books  emphasize 
the  virtue  and  necessity  of  coolness  in  time  of 
danger.  So,  too,  the  advantage  that  courage  in 
time  of  war  gives  both  to  the  nation  and  to  the 
individual  is  inculcated. 

^'Bravery  is  courage  in  battle, '*  says  Payot. 

^  Petit  et  Lamj^ :  Jean  Lavenir,  p.  318 ;  Devinat :  Livre 
de  Lecture  et  de  Morale  (Cours  Moyen),  pp.  145-160 ;  Boitel : 
La  Recitation  (9  a  12  ans),  pp.  104-109;  ibid.  (6  a  9  ans), 
p.  51 ;  ibid.,  Trois  Annees,  etc.,  pp.  57-65 ;  Aulard  et  Bayet : 
Morale,  etc.,  Part  I,  p.  54 ;  Cuir :  Les  Petits  Ecoliers,  p.  92 ; 
Chalamet :    Mes  Deuxiemes  Lectures,  pp.  103-105,  etc. 

^De  Grandmaison:    Scenes,  pp.  183-186. 

2  Payot :    La  Morale  a  FEcole,  p.  66. 
42 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

**Iii  war,  courage  and  steadiness  are  necessary 
every  minute.  To  march,  in  weather  icy  cold 
or  burning  hot,  often  with  wounded  feet,  with 
chilblains,  to  lie  on  the  damp  earth,  to  suffer 
thirst  and  hunger:  all  this  must  be  endured 
gayly.  Those  who  complain  are  bad  comrades, 
for  discouragement  is  contagious. 

*^In  the  day  of  battle  the  terrible  roar  of 
the  cannon  makes  the  heart  beat  and  brings  the 
cold  sweat  .  .  .  but  the  brave  quickly^ecover 
their  coolness.  They  save  their  cartridges.  If 
it  possessed  a  hundred  riflemen,  perfectly  calm, 
a  regiment  would  be  invincible.  A  story  is 
told  of  a  battle,  in  1881,  where  it  took  41  can- 
non shots  and  33,000  rifle  shots  to  kill  70  Arabs. 
In  Afghanistan  the  English,  at  300  meters, 
fired  50,000  times  and  killed  25  enemies !  Twelve 
calm  men,  who  aim  with  tranquillity,  are  worth 
a  regiment  of  fools. 

^^Keep  cool  under  fire,  and  we  shall  be  in- 
vincible. ' '  ^ 

Thus  from  very  early  years  the  French  lad 
is  taught  the  meaning  of  courage  and  coolness ; 
the  ideal  of  bravery  inspires  him  to  heroic 
deeds.  Such  teachings  play  an  important  part 
in  the  formation  of  the  psychology  of  national 

'Ibid.,  pp.  67-68. 

43 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

defense;  and  this  psychology  must  account,  in 
a  measure,  for  the  French  soldier's  readiness 
to  do  his  full  duty  in  the  present  crisis,  for  his 
realization  of  the  sacrifices  which  the  fulfill- 
ment of  that  duty  must  entail.  It  is  a  training 
which  the  United  States  would  do  well  to  imi- 
tate. 

The  French  have  understood,  however,  that 
in  laying  the  educational  foundations  for  the 
task  of  national  defense  it  is  necessary  to  do 
more  than  arouse  the  spirit  that  would  brave 
danger  and  death  in  time  of  war.  The  youth 
must  be  led  to  bear  willingly  during  peaceful 
years  the  heavy  and  painful  burden  of  prepara- 
tion for  the  coming  conflict.  Courage,  enthu- 
siasm, and  self-sacrifice  would  be  powerless 
against  a  hostile  army,  organized  and  trained.^ 
Hence  the  oncoming  generations  must  be  taught 
to  support  the  government's  program  of  uni- 
versal compulsory  military  training. 

In  pursuance  of  this  policy  the  writers  of 
school  manuals  have  appealed  to  the  reason  of 
the  youth  of  France  with  many  arguments  to 
show  the  necessity  of  the  military  service  for 
everyone.  Thus  it  is  pointed  out  that  while 
citizen  armies  were  once  possible,  they  are  so 

^  Gerard :    Morale,  p.  188. 

44 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

no  longer,  because  ^Hhe  complexity  of  the  mili- 
tary trade  has  rendered  necessary  a  long  ap- 
prenticeship. ' '  ^  One  never  knows  when  the 
country  will  be  in  danger,^  for  the  jealousy  or 
ill  will  of  neighboring  peoples  will  some  time 
render  war  necessary.^  And  when  the  enemy  is 
at  the  frontier  every  citizen  ought  to  know 
how  to  manage  a  gun  or  cannon,  or  to  ride  a 
horse."*  Love  of  discipline  is  a  duty,  since  an 
undisciplined  army  can  cause  the  ruin  of  a  coun- 
try.^ Furthermore,  military  training  hardens 
the  body,  counteracting  the  enervating  influ- 
ence of  the  soft  and  easy  life  to  which  France 
is  becoming  accustomed.^  The  activity  of  neigh- 
boring countries  in  manufacturing  guns  and 
cannon,"^  the  superior  preparation  of  the  Prus- 
sians in  the  War  of  1870  ^  are  other  reasons  ad- 

^  Mabilleau,  Levasseur  et  Delacourtie :  Coiirs  d'lnstmc- 
tion  Civique.  Instruction  Civique — Droit  Usuel.  Economie 
Politique,  p.  136. 

^  Pontsevrez :    Cours  de  Morale  Pratique,  p.  136. 

'  Compayre :    Elements,  p.  89. 

*  Bert,  P. :  L'Instruetion  Civique,  pp.  15-16. 

Touillee:    Francinet,  p.  258. 

®Laloi,  P.:  La  Premiere  Annee  d'Instruction  Morale  et 
Civique. 

'Lavisse,  Ernest:  La  Nouvelle  Deuxieme  Annee  d'His- 
toire  de  France,  p.  404. 

"  Chalamet :   Jean  Felber,  p.  109. 

45 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

vanced  for  bearing  tlie  burdens  of  militarism; 
and  the  conclusion  is  reached  that  **  since  mili- 
tary service  is  necessary  it  ought  to  be  obliga- 
tory.'^i 

^  *  The  military  training, '  *  says  M.  Aulard,  *  *  is 
an  obligation  very  heavy,  very  painful.  We 
would  suffer  less  of  it,  and  fewer  soldiers  would 
be  necessary,  if  there  were  no  longer  in  Europe 
kings  and  emperors  who  amuse  themselves  by 
exciting  quarrels  among  peoples,  by  making 
them  believe  that  they  hate  one  another.  Lit- 
tle by  little  people  will  learn  that  they  are 
brothers,  and  the  French  Eepublic  will  have 
no  longer  any  fear  of  being  attacked  or  invaded 
by  kings  or  emperors.  Unfortunately  this 
bright  day  is  still  far  distant,  and,  as  long  as 
other  nations  will  not  disarm,  we  must  have  a 
powerful  army  to  defend  the  independence  of 
our  nation. 

^^That  is  why  the  military  service  is  obliga- 
tory. If  there  were  no  army,  France  would  be 
conquered  and  would  become  German  or  EuS- 
sian.    But  we  wish  to  remain  Frenchmen,  and, 

^  Mabilleau,  Levasseur  et  Delacourtie :  Cours  d'Instruction 
Civique.  Instruction  Civique — Droit  Usuel.  Economie  Po- 
litique, p.  136;  Coudert  et  Cuir:  Memento  Theorique,  p. 
133. 

46 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

besides,  the  existence  of  France  is  useful  to 
humanity. 

^ '  Therefore  let  us  perform  our  military  serv- 
ice with  good  grace,  since  it  is  necessary  to  do 
it.  Let  us  perform  it  with  zeal,  in  willing  com- 
pliance with  the  military  regulations,  since  it 
is  for  the  interest  of  France."^ 

Not  only  are  these  arguments  set  forth  in 
support  of  the  general  policy  of  compulsory 
training,  but  the  laws  of  1872  and  1889  are  spe- 
cifically defended,^  while  at  least  one  author, 
writing  near  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
argues  in  favor  of  increasing  the  length  of  the 
term  of  service.^  In  such  fashion  the  growing 
boy  is  led  to  realize  the  necessity  of  the  hard 
years  of  drill  that  lie  before  him.* 

The  importance  of  this  teaching  it  is  difficult 
to  overestimate.  It  cannot,  indeed,  be  proved 
to  a  mathematical  certainty  that  without  the 

^  Aulard  et  Bayet :    Morale  et  Instruction  Cmqne,  p.  53. 

2  Blanehet  et  Pinard :  Cours  Complet,  p.  602 ;  Le  Peyre, 
Livre  d'Education,  p.  42. 

^  David-Sauvageot :     Monsieur  Prevot,  p.  36. 

*  Belot :  La  Vie  Ci\dque,  p.  143 ;  Caumont :  Lectures,  p. 
348 ;  Aulard  et  Bayet :  Morale,  etc.,  Part  II,  p.  42 ;  Jost  et 
Braeunig:  Lectures,  etc.,  p.  42;  Quilici  et  Baccus:  Petit 
Livre,  p.  165;  Petit  et  Lamy:  Jean  Lavenir,  p.  248; 
Chalamet :    Jean  Felber,  p.  109,  etc. 

47 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

aid  of  the  school  the  government's  program 
of  preparedness  would  have  broken  down;  but 
it  is  at  least  a  fair  supposition  that  without  such 
instruction  the  policy  could  not  have  been  main- 
tained in  its  entirety.  If  there  were  many  in- 
telligent statesmen  who  could  not  appreciate 
the  magnitude  of  the  German  menace,  how  could 
the  populace  be  expected  to  realize  it?  With 
the  growth  of  international  socialism  the  clamor 
for  disarmament  was  ringing  ever  louder. 
Many  resented  the  irksome  years  abstracted 
from  their  careers;  and  it  was  said  that 
when  the  period  of  service  with  the  colors  was 
increased  in  1913  from  two  years  to  three,  ^Hhe 
great  bulk  of  Frenclnnen*'  were  ^4n  a  mood 
which  a  gust  might  turn  against  the  national 
duty/'  ^  Who  can  say  that  it  was  not  largely 
the  teachings  of  early  years  that  held  the  peo- 
ple to  a  support  of  this  rigorous  training?  And 
without  such  training  how  could  the  French 
have  maintained  any  effective  resistance  to 
German  invasion? 

Less  directly  connected  with  the  develop- 
ment of  patriotism  than  the  teaching  of 
bravery,  love  of  country,  or  the  obligatory  mili- 

^"The  Three  Years  Bill  in  France,"  Living  Age,  Vol. 
278,  p.  247. 

48 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

tary  service,  but  still  significant  in  the  educa- 
tional equipment  for  resistance  to  a  foreign  foe, 
has  been  the  instruction  in  regard  to  national 
defenses  and  to  taxation.  The  Franco-German 
War  showed  thoughtful  men  that  officers  and 
soldiers  must  have  more  accurate  understand- 
ing of  the  country's  fortifications  and  of  its 
topography  in  the  region  of  probable  military 
operations;  for  in  such  knowledge  their  foes 
had  been  greatly  superior.^  The  major  por- 
tion of  such  training  must,  of  course,  come 
during  the  years  of  obligatory  military  service, 
but  certain  fundamental  notions  have  been  im- 
planted in  the  schools.  Thus  Foncin's  popular 
^^ Premiere  Annee  de  Geographic"  devotes  one 
out  of  fifty- two  pages  to  the  subject  of  national 
defense.    He  takes  up,  among  other  things,  the 

'Breal:  Instruction  Publique  (1872),  pp.  90-91.  "Nous 
avons  trop  vu  dans  la  derniere  guerre  les  avantages  de  ce 
genre  d'instruction  pour  qu'il  soit  neeessaire  d'y  insister. 
Nos  soldats,  ne  comprenant  point  d'ou  venait  la  science 
topographique  de  Fennemi  s'aehamaient  a  poursuivre  des 
espions  imaginaires.  Mais  non  seulement  chaque  sous-offi- 
cier  prussien,  en  consultant  sa  carte,  connaissait  mieux  le 
pays  que  la  plupart  des  habitants,  mais  il  savait  a  quel 
mouvement  d'ensemble  son  corps  d'armee  prenait  part,  il 
voyait  les  progres  des  operations  et  il  en  pressentait  les 
effets.  La  confiance  s'en  trouvait  augmentee  et  passait  dans 
les  rangs  des  soldats." 

49 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

fighting  strength  of  the  army  and  navy,  shows 
how  the  country  has  been  fortified  against  at- 
tack, explains  the  military  significance  of  rail- 
roads, and  indicates  on  a  map  the  location  of 
the  principal  fortifications.^  **  Paris,  *'  he  says, 
*4s  an  immense  intrenched  camp,  and  the  heart 
of  the  national  resistance  in  case  of  inva- 
sion. ' '  ^  Another  writer  points  out  that  *  *  the 
Meuse  is  the  trench  of  our  frontier, '*  and  that 
the  Argonne  offers  no  serious  natural  obstacle 
to  the  invader.^ 

Sometimes  military  matters  are  discussed  in 
considerable  detail,*  though  naturally  in  a 
rather  elementary  way.  For  example,  a  school 
reader  by  MM.  Jost  et  Braeunig^  devotes 
sixty-eight  out  of  some  four  hundred  pages  to 
the  army.^  The  authors  define  the  character  of 

^La  Premiere  Annee  de  Geographic  (199®  edition),  p.  28. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  12;  Leroux  et  Montillot:  Une  Famille,  pp. 
257-258. 

2  Dubois :     France  et  Colonies,  p.  39. 

*E.g.,  Lavisse:  Tu  Seras  Soldat,  pp.  171-177,  in- 
cludes the  following  topics:  "Construction  d'une  echelle 
au  1/80000."  "Comment  on  mesure  une  distance  au  moyen 
de  I'echelle  kilometrique."  "Comment  on  determine  une 
hauteur  sur  les  cartes  d'etat-major." 

^  Lectures  Pratiques. 

6  Ibid.,  pp.  116-184. 

50 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOaY  OF  DEFENSE 

the  various  divisions  of  the  army — infantry, 
cavalry,  artillery,  engineering  corps  and  bag- 
gage train.  They  explain  the  meaning  of  the 
company  and  of  the  regiment.  Thus,  in  regard 
to  the  regiment,  ^^Four  companies  joined  to- 
gether form  a  battalion,  commanded  by  the  bat- 
talion chief  or  commandant.  A  captain  acts 
as  aid  to  the  commandant  to  transmit  orders 
to  the  di:fferent  companies;  he  is  the  captain- 
adjutant-major.  ' ' 

*'Four  battalions,  four  thousand  men,  form 
the  regiment  commanded  by  the  colonel.  He  is 
assisted  by  a  second  colonel,  called  the  lieuten- 
ant-colonel. ' '  ^ 

Furthermore,  a  careful  description  is  given 
of  the  natural  and  artificial  fortifications  by 
which  France  is  protected.  The  frontier  to- 
ward Germany,  for  example,  is  defended  by 
four  great  places: 

**1.  Verdun,  on  the  Meuse,  in  front  of  the 
passes  of  the  Argonne;  it  recalls  the  siege  of 
1792  and  the  energetic  Beaurepaire. 

*^2.  Toul,  at  the  westernmost  bend  of  the 
Moselle,  one  of  the  three  bishoprics  reunited  to 
France  by  Henry  11. 

^*3.     Epinal,  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mo- 

1  Ibid.,  p.  132. 

51 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

selle,  remarkable  for  its  picturesque  situation 
in  the  heart  of  the  Vosges. 

*'4.  Belfort,  which,  with  its  detached  forts, 
guards  the  passage  between  the  Vosges  and  the 
Jura.''i 

By  means  of  such  instruction  boys  are  given 
a  general  idea  of  the  army  organization  and  are 
initiated  into  a  general  knowledge  of  their 
country's  facilities  for  resisting  a  foreign  foe.^ 

In  dealing  with  the  frontier  certain  writers 
call  attention  to  the  danger  to  France  from  the 
northeast.  Indeed  long  before  the  German 
whirlwind  swept  over  the  ill-fated  state  of  Bel- 
gium these  men  were  pointing  out  to  schoolboys 
the  possibility  of  a  violation  of  its  neutrality.^ 

'Ibid.,  p.  166. 

'Vidal  de  la  Blache  et  Camena  d' Almeida:  La  France, 
p.  408  and  passim;  Allain  et  Hauser:  Les  Principaux  As- 
pects du  Globe,  p.  220  and  passim;  DavidSauvageot :  Mon- 
sieur Prevot,  pp.  36-38;  Le  Leap  et  Baudrillard:  La 
France,  etc.,  pp.  44-45;  Lanie;*:  Cours  du  Certificat 
d'Etudes  Primaires,  p.  47;  Mabilleau:  Cours  d'Instruction 
Civique,  pp.  3-6 ;  etc. 

'Foucart  et  Grigaut:  Geographie  (Deuxieme  Annee), 
p.  144;  Dupuy:  Livret  de  Geographic,  pp.  16-17;  Jost  et 
Braeunig:  Lectures  Pratiques  (17^  edition,  1899),  p.  157; 
Vidal  de  la  Blache  et  Camena  d' Almeida:  La  France, 
p.  59 ;  Guillot :  La  France  et  Ses  Colonies.  Premier  Cycle. 
(Classe  de  Troisieme),  p.  157. 

52 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

Not  all  of  the  writers,  it  is  true,  realize  the  full 
gravity  of  the  peril.  One  puts  his  faith,  in  case 
of  such  attack,  in  the  forts  of  Dunkirk,  Lille 
and  Valenciennes.^  Another  believes  that  the 
aggressor  would  find  as  many  inconveniences  as 
advantages  in  violating  Belgian  neutrality.^ 
But  the  well-known  M.  Marcel  Dubois,  predict- 
ing and  fearing  the  move  which  the  Germans 
have  actually  made,  advocates  that  the  French 
anticipate  their  plan  by  themselves  taking  the 
offensive. 

*'The  Belgian  frontier,''  he  says,  *'is  per- 
haps more  dangerous  still.  The  neutrality  of 
Belgium  can  be  violated  as  well  as  that  of 
Switzerland ;  and  in  this  country  absolutely  flat, 
where  mounds  of  40  meters  pass  for  moun- 
tains, ...  no  natural  obstacle  aids  resistance. 
There  lies  the  weak  point  of  our  defense.  .  .  . 
Everything,  therefore,  seems  to  indicate  that  if 
the  French  themselves  do  not  take  the  offen- 
sive the  great  battles  will  take  place  behind  our 
first  line  of  defense,  on  the  Marne  and  the 
Oise,  in  that  plain  of  Champagne  which  has 
already  seen  the  defeat  of  the  Huns  of  Attila 

*Dupuy:    Livret  de  Geographie,  pp.  16-17. 
^Vidal  de  la  Blache  et  Camena  d' Almeida:    La  France, 
p.  413. 

53 


PATKIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

and  the  last  resistance  of  Napoleon  I.  It  is 
therefore  greatly  to  the  interest  of  France  to 
march  forward. ' '  ^ 

This  is  the  only  statement  of  the  sort  I  have 
met,  and  can  by  no  means  be  taken  as  typify- 
ing the  view  of  the  whole  nation.  But  it  is  in- 
teresting to  note  that  as  early  as  1891  a  school 
geography  was  creating  opinion  among  the 
youth  of  France  favorable  to  a  violation  of 
Belgian  neutrality  by  the  French  themselves. 

Since  money  is  the  sinews  of  war  and  of 
armed  peace  as  well,  instruction  in  regard  to 
the  reasons  for  taxation  becomes  an  element  in 
the  formation  of  a  psychology  of  national 
defense.  From  time  immemorial  men  have 
groaned  under  the  weight  of  tax  assessments, 
and  in  days  of  stress,  when  their  burdens  have 
been  augmented  rather  than  decreased,  bit- 
terness has  sometimes  culminated  in  open  re- 
bellion. Now  the  huge  army  and  navy  of  France 
have  constituted  a  heavy  drain  on  the  purse  of 
her  citizens,  a  drain  which  they,  not  fully  awake 
to  its  need,  might  some  day  refuse  to  allow, 
preventing  the  government  by  ballot  or  by  bul- 
let from  carrying  out  its  program.  The  school 
men  have  therefore  come  to  the  rescue  of  the 

^Dubois:    France  et  Colonies,  pp.  149-150. 

54 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

state  by  pointing  out  to  children  the  necessity 
of  taxation  for  military  and  naval  purposes. 

^' You  have  admired  the  martial  air,  the  spirit, 
the  fine  bearing  of  the  troops,  which,  at  the 
autumn  maneuvers,  have  camped  near  the  vil- 
lage,'' says  a  textbook  writer.  ^^You  have  said 
to  yourselves  that  if  ever  the  country  were  in 
danger,  this  army  would  be  there  to  defend  it. 
Have  you  also  asked  what  the  cost  is  of  so  many 
uniforms,  rifles,  horses,  cannon?  To  what  sum 
each  year  amounts  the  maintenance  of  a  perma- 
nent army  of  600,000  menT'^  The  cost  of 
keeping  up  army  and  navy  is  heavy,  admits 
Foncin,  but  must  be  borne  with  patriotism,  since 
the  country  is  menaced  by  many  enemies.^  In 
general  the  authors  try  to  show  the  reasonable- 
ness of  taxation  in  support  of  the  army  and 
the  navy,  as  well  as  of  other  national  insti- 
tutions  and   public   works,^     The   docility   in 

^  Jost  et  Braeuuig- :    Lectures  Pratiques,  p.  293. 

^La  Premiere  Annee  de  Geographie,  p.  28. 

^  Aulard  et  Bayet :  Morale  et  Instruction  Civique,  pp.  40, 
41;  De  Grandmaison:  Scenes,  p.  109;  Lemoine:  Livret, 
p.  25 ;  Belot :  La  Vie  Civique,  pp.  61-69 ;  Devinat :  Livre 
de  Lecture  et  de  Morale,  pp.  61-63;  Bert:  L^Instruction 
Civique,  p.  37  and  passim ;  Vidal  de  la  Blache :  La  France, 
p.  242;  Guyau:  La  Premiere  Annee,  etc.  Cours  Moyen, 
pp.  275-276;  etc. 

55 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

financial  matters  thus  inculcated  must  have 
proved  a  great  help,  no  less  real  because  im- 
possible of  accurate  measurement,  to  the  gov- 
ernment in  meeting  anti-militaristic  opposi- 
tion. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  teaching  of 
patriotism  in  the  schools  has  been  simply  the 
chance  outgrowth  of  the  sentiments  of  individ- 
ual writers  and  schoolmasters.  On  the  contrary, 
the  highly  centralized  government  of  France 
has  supervised  the  development  of  this  instruc- 
tion and  rendered  it  systematic,  partly  by 
means  of  laws,  but  more  directly  through  the 
official  school  programs  and  plans  of  study. 
These  programs  have  been  formulated  from 
time  to  time  by  the  government  with  the  co- 
operation of  the  two  Chambers,  and  have  the 
force,  though  not  the  form,  of  law.^  They  in- 
dicate for  the  individual  master  the  objects  of 
instruction  and  the  limits  within  which  it  is  to 
be  pursued.^  Thus  it  happens  that  some  teach- 
ing in  regard  to  each  of  the  topics  thus  far 
touched  upon  in  this  chapter  has  been  enjoined 
by  the  government  for  the  boys  of  France  at 

^Liard,  L. :  Le  Nouveau  Plan  d'Etudes  de  I'Enseigne- 
ment  Secondaire,  p.  66. 

'Buisson:    Dictionnaire  de  Pedagogic. 

56 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

one  or  more  stages  of  tlieir  school  careers. 
For  example,  one  of  the  subjects  of  moral  in- 
struction provided  for  in  the  programs  for 
elementary  primary  schools,  beginning  with 
1882,  has  been  La  Patrie,  under  which  head- 
ing have  been  taken  up  ' '  France,  her  triumphs 
and  her  misfortunes — Duties  toward  the  Fa- 
therland and  toward  society. ' '  ^  In  a  higher 
class  of  the  same  schools  boys  have  been  taught 
^'What  a  man  owes  to  the  Fatherland:  obedi- 
ence to  the  laws,  military  service,  discipline, 
devotion,  fidelity  to  the  flag.^'^  In  the  same 
connection  instruction  in  regard  to  taxation  has 
been  provided  for,  while  in  other  places  ar- 
rangement has  been  made  for  the  teaching  of 
Le  Courage  ^  and  La  Frontiere.^  Thus  the 
state  has  caused  the  spirit  of  that  patriotism, 
which,  according  to  Compayre,  *  *  ought  to  be  the 

^  Organisation  Pedagogique  et  Plan  d'Etudes  des  BJcoles 
Primaires  PuUiques,  1882,  p.  38;  ibid.,  1887,  p.  36;  ibid., 
1887-1910. 

^  Organisation  Pedagogique  et  Plan  d'Etudes  des  Ecoles 
Primaires  Puhliques,  1882,  p.  40 ;  Organisation  Pedagogique 
et  Plan  d'Etudes  des  Ecoles  Primaires  Elementaires  Prescrits 
par  Arretes  des  18  Janvier  1887  .  .  .  1909,  p.  24. 

^  Plan  d'Etudes  .  .  .  de  VEnseignement  Secondaire,  1902 
(Huitieme  edition),  p.  53. 

*  Plan  d'Etudes  et  Programmes  de  VEnseignement  Secon- 
daire, 1902  (Edition  of  1907),  p.  67. 

57 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

lay  dogma,  the  religion  of  all  Frenclimen, "  ^  to 
permeate  education  from  primary  to  normal 
scliool.2 

Carefully  organized  and  systematized  as 
have  been  the  government's  plans  for  molding 
the  psychology  of  patriotism,  however,  it  must 
not  be  supposed  that  they  have  met  with  no  op- 
position and  that  they  have  had  no  defects. 
Not  only  have  attempts  to  create  and  drill  com- 
panies and  battalions  of  scholars  as  prepara- 
tory to  the  obligatory  service  of  later  years 
proved  in  many  cases  a  lamentable  failure,^  but 
the  teaching  body  itself  has  been  affected  by  the 
propaganda  of  pacificism  and  even  of  anti-pa- 
triotism.^ Furthermore,  the  Third  Republic  and 

^  Compayre :   L'Edueation  Intelleetuelle  et  Morale,  p.  439. 

*  Organisation  Pedagogique  et  Plan  d' Etudes  des  Ecoles 
Elementaires,  1887,  pp.  19,  23,  27,  36;  Organisation  Peda- 
gogique .  .  .  des  Ecoles  Primaires  Elementaires,  1887-1909, 
pp.  24,  29 ;  Plan  d'Etudes  des  Ecoles  Primaires  Superieures, 
1887,  p.  25;  Plan  d'Etudes  .  .  .  des  Ecoles  Primaires  Su- 
perieures  de  Gargons,  1909,  pp.  9,  48,  62;  Plan  d'Etudes 
.  .  .  de  VEnseignement  Secondaire  Special  dans  les  Lycees 
et  Colleges,  Prescrits  par  Arrete  du  10  aout  1886,  p.  38; 
Plan  d'Etudes  .  .  .  dans  les  Lycees  et  Colleges  de  Gargons, 
1902,  pp.  23,  77-78,  157 ;  Plan  d'Etudes  .  .  .  des  Ecoles  Nor- 
males  Primaires,  1905,  p.  6;  ibid.,  1910,  pp.  6,  8,  13;  etc. 

^Le  Foyer,  Jan.  1,  1913,  pp.  532-533. 

*See  Chapter  VI. 

58 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

tlie  textbook  writers  who  mirror  its  ideals 
have  apparently  done  little  to  combat  through 
the  school  the  evil  of  depopulation.  In  an  age 
when  numbers  make  such  a  tremendous  differ- 
ence from  the  military  point  of  view,  France 
might  well  have  felt  alarmed  to  see  her  popu- 
lation remaining  practically  stationary  while 
that  of  Germany  was  increasing  at  the  rate  of 
not  far  from  a  million  a  year.  Efforts  to  com- 
bat the  evil  have  been  unsystematic  and  have 
lacked  in  vigor,  though  certain  textbook  writers 
have  pointed  out  that  the  failure  of  France  to 
increase  in  numbers  constitutes  a  national  peril, 
indicating  causes  and  suggesting  cures.  Gan- 
neron  holds  the  influence  of  the  doctrines  of 
Malthus  primarily  responsible  for  this  lack  of 
increase,^  while  Foncin  attributes  it  partially  to 
the  fact  that  too  many  peasants  desert  the  coun- 
try for  Paris,  where  existence  is  at  once  more 
costly  and  less  sane.^  Another  author  advises 
Frenchmen  to  emigrate  to  the  colonies,  mingle 
with  the  natives  and  make  of  them  good  French- 
men, ready  to  defend  La  Patrie.^  Suggestions 
of  this  character,  however,  appear  to  be  excep- 

^Une  Annee  de  Droit  Usuel,  p.  159. 

*  La  Premiere  Annee  de  Geographie,  p.  52. 

^  Villain,  Comtois  et  Loiret :  La  Lecture,  p.  367. 

59 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

tional  rather  than  typical ;  little  has  been  done 
to  implant  and  foster  in  the  hearts  of  young 
Frenchmen  the  ideal  of  the  large  family;  and 
a  recent  writer  has  even  averred  that  *'Mal- 
thusianism  is  preached  unblushingly  with  the 
constant  connivance  of  the  government."  ^  Pos- 
sibly the  school  could  do  little  to  remedy  the 
evil  of  depopulation,  but  it  could  at  any  rate 
make  more  active  efforts  to  do  so. 

"\Aliatever  have  been  the  weaknesses  and  fail- 
ures of  the  Third  Eepublic's  policy  of  using  the 
school  to  aid  in  fortifying  the  state  against 
the  hour  of  danger,  these  have  been  greatly 
overbalanced  by  its  successes.  In  the  first 
place  the  teaching  of  patriotism  has  led  to  a 
wider,  keener  and  truer  understanding  of  the 
problems  of  national  defense.  It  has  made  im- 
possible not  merely  that  callous,  selfish,  igno- 
rant indifference  to  the  needs  of  the  Fatherland, 
such  as  has  been  found  in  certain  classes  of 
the  English  working  people  even  in  the  hour  of 
crisis,  but  also  that  vain  boasting  and  rash  over- 
confidence  which  characterized  the  France  of 
1870.  For  it  is  an  honest  patriotism,  a  critical 
patriotism,  that  has  been  taught  in  the  schools 
of  the  Third  Eepublic.    The  aim  has  been  not 

^  Dimnet ;  France  Herself  Again,  p.  103. 

60 


MOLDING  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  DEFENSE 

to  explain  or  excuse  the  crimes  and  disasters 
of  the  past,  but  to  prevent  the  repetition  of 
these  in  the  future.  Hence  schoolboys  have  been 
warned  of  the  suffering  and  trouble  that  a  new 
invasion  would  necessarily  bring.  They  have 
been  taught  the  strong  and  the  weak  points  of 
the  national  defense.  They  have  been  led  to 
realize  the  necessity  of  enduring  the  hard  dis- 
cipline of  military  service  in  time  of  peace,  as 
well  as  to  contribute  willingly  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  large  army  and  navy.  In  other 
words,  the  Third  Eepublic,  with  Reason  as  its 
guide,  has  appealed  to  the  reason  of  the  individ- 
ual for  support  in  its  preparedness  for  the  dan- 
gers of  war. 

In  the  second  place  the  state  has  fostered 
carefully  and  systematically  certain  of  those 
ideals  which  always  must  form  the  foundation 
of  the  highest  and  truest  heroism.  Courage  and 
coolness  the  French  boy  learns  to  admire  from 
his  earliest  years.  Love  of  country,  which  in 
its  crudest  form  may,  perhaps,  be  almost  in- 
tuitive, the  school  has  attempted  to  develop  into 
a  rational,  intelligent,  devoted  patriotism,  which 
will  not  shrink  from  the  gravest  dangers,  which 
places  duty  to  the  Fatherland  before  all  selfish 
interests.    It  is  this  new  and  serious  spirit  of 

61 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

intelligence,  loyalty  and  determination,  devel- 
oped largely  through  education,  which  consti- 
tutes the  essential  difference  between  the 
France  of  today  and  the  France  of  1870.  It 
is  a  spirit  which  is  every  day  apparent  in  the 
struggle  of  France  against  the  war  machine  of 
her  Teutonic  foe.  It  is  a  spirit  which  may 
prove  a  decisive  factor  in  the  big  war. 


CHAPTEE  III 

THE     INCULCATION     OF     HOSTILITY     TOWARD 
GERMANY 

The  Treaty  of  Frankfort  gave  to  Germany 
the  better  part  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine;  it  left 
in  the  hearts  of  Frenchmen  a  deep-seated  re- 
sentment against  the  adamantine  foe  who  had 
forced  the  nation  to  yield  this  cherished  por- 
tion of  her  patrimony,  for  the  two  provinces 
had  been  among  the  richest  and  most  highly 
prized  parts  of  France.  Centuries  of  conquest 
and  diplomacy  had  been  required  to  win  them 
bit  by  bit  from  the  Hapsburg  power,  though 
for  more  than  a  hundred  years  before  the  out- 
break of  the  Franco-German  War  they  had  been 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  France.  Their  value 
was  out  of  all  proportion  to  their  size,  for  not 
only  were  they  fair  and  flourishing,  but  they 
had  formed  the  strongest  of  barriers  against 
aggression  from  the  East,  a  guaranty  of  safety, 
a  part  of  that  national  boundary  to  whose 
complete   attainment  French  eyes  have   ever 

63 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

looked  so  longingly.  Furthermore,  though 
these  provinces  had  become  so  late  a  part  of 
France,  their  sons  were  among  the  most  loyal 
to  La  Patrie;  and  when  Germany  insisted  on 
the  spoils  of  war,  the  thirty-five  deputies  from 
the  unhappy  lands  protested  at  Bordeaux  that 
*  ^Alsace  and  Lorraine  refuse  to  be  alienated. 
With  one  voice,  the  citizens  at  their  firesides, 
the  soldiers  under  arms,  the  former  by  voting, 
the  latter  by  fighting,  proclaim  to  Germany, 
and  to  the  world  at  large,  the  immutable  will 
of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  to  remain  French!'^  ^ 
The  people  of  France  joined  heart  and  soul  in 
this  fervid  though  fruitless  protest  against 
what  they  believed  to  be  the  most  unjust  of 
annexations.  More  potent  with  the  French, 
perhaps,  than  any  of  the  other  reasons  for 
anger  against  Germany,  was  the  feeling  of  hu- 
miliation that  this  aggregation  of  states,  once 
so  weak  and  disunited,  had  forced  to  her  knees 
the  proudest  nation  of  Europe.  It  was  a  hu- 
miliation not  to  be  forgotten  or  forgiven. 

From  these  feelings  of  injustice  and  wounded 
pride  developed  the  doctrine  of  revanche  or  re- 
prisal. Some  day  France  must  regain  from 
Germany   the   **lost  provinces.  *'     Reconquest 

^  Quoted  in  Rose,  J.  H. :    The  Oiigins  of  the  War,  p.  94. 

64: 


HOSTILITY  TOWARD  GERMANY 

could  not  of  course  be  immediate,  for  the  coun- 
try was  exhausted  and  helpless,  while  the  en- 
emy was  strong  and  powerful ;  renewal  of  strife 
could  only  mean  ruin.  Therefore  it  was  neces- 
sary to  watch  and  wait,  to  recuperate  for  the 
struggle  which  would  come  later,  to  be  thor- 
oughly prepared  for  the  day  of  opportunity. 
The  dream  of  revanche  was  in  the  hearts  of  all 
ardent  patriots  at  the  very  moment  of  the  ces- 
sion of  Alsace-Lorraine. 

Nevertheless  it  was  realized  that  the  genera- 
tions to  come  might  be  less  eager  to  regain  the 
lost  provinces  than  those  who  had  lived  under 
the  awful  shadow  of  the  tragic  year  and  had 
known  its  full  meaning.  "What  had  been  to  the 
men  of  1871  a  terrible  humiliation  might  become 
to  their  posterity  an  accepted  fact,  unless  the 
memory  of  loss  and  the  duty  of  reconquest 
were  kept  alive  and  constantly  fostered.  Hence 
it  has  come  about  that  the  doctrine  of  revanche 
has  been  taught  in  the  schools,  in  order  that  the 
sons  and  grandsons  of  those  who  struggled 
against  Germany  might  sense  fully  their  re- 
sponsibility for  the  recovery  of  the  conquered 
lands.  In  various  ways  has  this  teaching  been 
inculcated,  sometimes  by  the  merest  suggestion, 
sometimes  by  the  direct  warning  not  to  for- 

65 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

get  that  France  was  robbed.  Fervid  rhetoric 
has  made  of  revanche  an  ideal,  while  cold  logic 
has  reenf  orced  with  arg-ument  the  duty  of  win- 
ning back  for  the  Fatherland  the  lost  territory. 
Finally  certain  writers,  irrespective  of  any  di- 
rect inculcation  of  revanche,  have  aroused  an- 
tagonism against  Germany  in  the  breasts  of  the 
school  children  who  have  studied  their  books. 
Geographies,  histories,  readers,  and  manuals  of 
moral  and  civic  instruction  have  played  their 
part  in  fostering  a  psychology  of  hostility  to- 
ward Germany.  But  in  spite  of  this  it  may  be 
questioned  whether  the  teaching  of  revanche 
ever  rose  to  the  dignity  of  a  national  policy. 

Sometimes  the  teaching  of  reprisal  takes  the 
form  merely  of  a  delicate  suggestion  or  a  pious 
hope  that  the  provinces  will  some  day  be 
brought  back  to  France.  Gambetta  used  to  say 
that  one  should  think  'of  revanche  always,  but 
speak  of  it  never.  But  to  this  sentiment  a  text- 
book objects  for  *^in  order  to  think  of  it,  it  is 
necessary  to  know  it.'' 

^*We  who  protest  against  the  brutal  words: 
^La  force  prime  le  droit/  who  know  the  fidelity 
of  the  people  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  do  not  for- 
get, behind  the  blue  Hue  of  the  Vosges,  Hhe  lost 
Paradise.'     The  stork,  symbolical  bird  of  Al- 

66 


HOSTILITY  TOWAED  GEEMANY 

sace,  comes  back  invariably  in  the  spring  to  its 
nest.  Let  us  wish  that  the  ^Paradise  Lost'  may 
become  ^  Paradise  Eegained. '  "  ^  Children  are 
reminded  that  the  Ehine  may  once  more  be  the 
boundary  of  the  Fatherland.^  They  are  told 
that  every  good  Frenchman  looks  forward  to 
the  recovery  of  the  provinces.^  It  is  the  habit 
of  map  makers  to  separate  the  Alsace-Lorraine 
region  from  the  rest  of  Germany  by  special 
boundary  lines.^  Thus  the  boundaries  of 
France  are  sometimes  carried  out  to  the  Ehine, 
in  such  a  way  as  to  appear  tentatively  to  in- 
clude the  provinces,  though  the  present  politi- 
cal limits  of  the  countiy  are  also  clearly  defined. 

^  Le  Leap  et  Baudrillard:  La  France,  etc.  (Cours 
Moyen),  p.  48. 

'  Jost  et  Braeunig :  Lectures  Pratiques,  p.  157. 

'Dupuy:    Livret  de  Morale,  p.  12. 

*Boitel:  La  Recitation  (6  a  9  ans),  p.  38;  Levasseur: 
Precis  de  la  Geographie,  Atlas,  passim;  Dubois:  France  et 
Colonies,  p.  72;  Pape-Carpantier :  Elements  de  Cosmog- 
raphie,  Geographie,  p.  42;  Foncin:  Geographie  de  la 
France,  Enseignement  Secondaire,  passim;  Coudert  et 
Cuir:  Memento  Theorique,  etc.,  p.  97^;  Guillot :  La  France 
et  ses  Colonies.  Classe  de  Premiere,  pp.  280-281;  Lanier, 
etc.:  La  France  et  ses  Colonies,  Lemons  Preparatoires,  pp. 
10,  12,  etc. ;  Le  Leap  et  Baudrillard :  La  France,  Metropole 
et  Colonies.  Cours  Moyen,  pp.  31,  34,  38,  etc.;  Lemonnier 
et  Schrader :  Elements  de  Geographie,  pp.  41,  54,  58 ;  Fouil- 
lee:    Francinet,  p.  164,  etc. 

67 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

Sometimes  the  " Reichsland' ^  is  colored  in  such 
a  way  as  to  differentiate  it  from  Germany  and 
at  the  same  time  from  France.^  The  impres- 
sion inevitably  conveyed  by  this  geographical 
hinting  is  that  if  Alsace  and  Lorraine  no  longer 
belong  to  La  Patrie,  neither  are  they  admittedly 
and  definitely  a  part  of  the  Empire  of  the  Hoh- 
enzollerns.  ''Let  ns  continue  to  learn  the  geog- 
raphy of  Alsace,"  writes  Mme.  Pape-Garpan- 
tier,  ' '  as  one  continues  to  occupy  oneself  with  a 
sister  momentarily  absent. ' '  -  Such  devices  and 
sentiments  serve  to  stimulate  memories  and  to 
sustain  hopes. 

Sometimes  incitement  to  reprisal  is  more  di- 
rect and  decisive  than  that  just  described;  the 
responsibility  for  redeeming  the  honor  of  their 
country  is  placed  squarely  on  the  shoulders  of 
the  youth  of  France.^ 

''My  son,"  writes  one  impassioned  author, 
''be  the  soldier  of  the  humiliated  Fatherland 

^  Fonein :  La  Premiere  Anuee  de  GeogTaphis,  passim ; 
Bedel:  L'Annee  Enfantine  de  Geographic,  p.  13;  Lanier, 
etc.:  La  France  et  ses  Colonies,  p.  14;  ibid.,  Cours  du 
Certificat  d'Etudes  Primaires,  p.  30;  ibid.,  Cours  Elemen- 
taire,  p.  24;  etc. 

2  Elements  de  CosmogTaphie,  etc.,  p.  52. 

2  E.  g.,  Lavisse,  Ernest :  La  Premiere  Annee  d'Histoire  de 
France,  p.  216. 

68 


HOSTILITY  TOWAED  GERMANY 

which  must  be  avenged,  of  France  which  must 
be  regenerated.  Serve  no  man  whatsoever; 
serve  neither  party  nor  family,  but  one  idea 
and  one  thing:  Liberty  and  the  Eepublic. 
Work,  study,  seek,  meditate,  learn,  and  when 
you  and  those  of  your  age  shall  have  brought 
back  to  the  Fatherland  her  greatness,  come  back 
and  strike  with  your  hand,  once  little  but  then 
strong,  on  the  stone  under  which  I  shall  sleep, 
and  say  only  these  words — but  say  them,  ^La 
revanche  est  prise.''  "  ^  Thus  if  certain  writers 
aim  merely  to  keep  alive  the  memory  of 
France's  loss  or  to  suggest  recovery  in  some 
vague  future,  in  such  passages  as  the  one  just 
quoted,  on  the  other  hand,  the  demand  for  re- 
prisal rises  to  the  height  of  an  ideal. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  French  to  appeal  to 
the  head  as  well  as  to  the  heart,  so  the  text- 
book writers  advance  arguments  to  show  why 
Alsace  and  Lorraine  ought  to  form  a  part  of 
their  country.  Some  point  out  that  the  '^  natu- 
ral''  boundary  of  France  to  the  east  is  the  river 
Rhine.2  One  contends  that  as  long  as  the  dis- 
puted territory  remains  in  the  hands  of  the 

^  Burle :   L'Histoire  Nationale,  p.  59,  quoting  J.  Claretie. 
'Hanriot:  Vive  la  France!,  p.  124;  Foncin:  La  Premiere 
Annee  de  GeogTaphie,  p.  29. 

69 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

Empire  ^^it  will  be  an  insunnountable  obstacle 
to  the  reconciliation  of  France  and  Germany; 
it  will  compel  ruinous  armaments  for  both;  it 
will  profoundly  trouble  the  peace  of  Europe.'*  ^ 
Little  stress  is  laid,  however,  on  the  historical 
claims  of  France  to  the  two  provinces.^  After 
all,  as  an  English  scholar  has  admitted  since  the 
opening  of  the  present  war,^  if  history  alone 
were  the  arbiter,  Germany  could  show  a  better 
title  to  the  region  than  France. 

What  grieves  the  school  men  most,  appar- 
ently, what  rouses  their  indignation  to  the  high- 
est pitch,  is  that  the  provinces  were  annexed 
to  Germany  against  the  will  of  their  inhabi- 
tants, the  greater  part  of  whom,  it  is  claimed, 
have  remained  at  heart  ever  loyal  to  La  Pa- 
trie.^  '  *  How  they  have  suffered  from  the  brutal 
War  of  1870!"  is  the  sentiment  of  a  school 

^Foncin:  Geographie  de  France,  Enseig-nement  Secon- 
daire,  pp.  120-121. 

2  The  historical  argument  is,  indeed,  sometimes  used  by 
French  writers,  e.  g.,  Lanier,  etc. :  La  France  et  ses  Colo- 
nies.   Coui-s  du  Certifieat  d'Etudes  Primaires,  p.  54. 

'Rose,  J.  Holland:    The  Origins  of  the  War,  p.  92. 

*  Rocherolles :  Les  Secondes  Lectures,  p.  13 ;  Lavisse :  La 
Premiere  Annee  d'Histoire  de  France,  p.  216;  Foncin:  La 
Premiere  Annee  de  Geographie,  p.  29 ;  Chalamet :  Mes  Pre- 
mieres Lectures,  p.  77;  Guj^au:  L' Annee  Preparatoire, 
Cours  Elementaire,  p.  195;  Gerard:  Morale,  p.  184. 

70 


HOSTILITY  TOWARD  GERMANY 

reader.  **  Their  heart  still  bleeds,  they  cannot 
accustom  themselves  to  being  French  no 
longer. ' '  ^  ^ '  Oh,  Papa ! ' '  exclaims  little  Louis, 
in  one  of  those  dialogue  stories  with  which 
French  textbooks  abound.  ^^What  pain  it  must 
give  the  people  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  to  see 
German  soldiers  in  command  over  them,  to  per- 
ceive from  afar  the  French  flag  under  which 
they  are  unable  to  range  themselves ! '  ^  ^ 

It  is  stated  that  the  Germans  have  ill-treated 
the  folk  of  the  conquered  lands.^  A  story  is 
told  of  one  Jerome  Brunner,  who  was  con- 
demned to  three  months'  imprisonment  for  fly- 
ing the  French  flag.*  ^*In  this  unhappy  coun- 
try of  Alsace,''  says  Chalamet,  ^^one  risks  be- 
ing spied  upon  and  denounced.  Each  day 
brings  news  of  condemnations  as  ridiculous  as 
they  are  odious.  .  .  ,  Young  people  are  thrown 
into  prison  for  having  sung  the  Marseillaise, 
or  for  having  spoken  ill  of  Germany."^    It  is 

^Jiiranville  et  Berger:  La  Troisieme  Livre  de  Lecture, 
p.  54. 

'  Mabilleau :   Cours  d'lnstruction  Civique,  p.  7. 

'  Schrader  et  Gallouedec :  Cours  General  de  Geograpbie, 
p.  513;  Chalamet:  Mes  Premieres  Lectures,  p  83;  Blan- 
chet:   Precis  d'Histoire,  p.  244. 

*  Chalamet:    Jean  Felber,  pp.  347-349. 

'  Ibid. 

71 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

stated  tliat  the  inhabitants  of  the  provinces  have 
never  ceased  to  protest  against  incorporation 
in  the  Empire,^  that  many  of  them  migrate  to 
France  each  year  to  avoid  being  under  German 
rule.^  Thus  General  Lavisse  says:  **In  order 
not  to  become  Germans  many  natives  of  Alsace 
and  Lorraine  left  their  villages  and  towns ;  the 
old  houses  where  their  parents  had  lived,  the 
fields,  the  factories,  all  their  fortunes,  they 
abandoned  to  remain  Frenchmen. 

^  ^  Others  remain  there,  submitting  perforce  to 
the  laws  of  Germany,  but  at  the  bottom  of  their 
hearts  they  always  love  France ;  they  hope  one 
day  to  come  back  to  her."  ^  The  tragedy  of  the 
separation  from  the  homeland  is  perhaps  best 
brought  out  in  Alphonse  Daudet  's  little  master- 
piece, ^^La  Derniere  Classe,''  even  more  popu- 
lar among  the  school  children  of  France  than 
among  American  boys  and  girls,  for  whom  the 
pathos  of  the  master's  farewell  to  his  scholars 
is  sometimes  marred  by  the  painful  require- 
ments of  translation. 

Thus  many  children  in  France  have  been  led 

^Jallifier  et  Vast:  Histoire  Contemporaine,  Cours  de 
Philosopliie,  p.  600. 

'Ibid.;  Burle:    L'Histoire  Nationale,  p.  65. 
•Lavisse:    Tu  Seras  Soldat,  pp.  29-30. 

72 


HOSTILITY  TOWAED  GEEMANY 

to  look  -Qpoii  the  Alsace-Lorraine  region  as 
rightfully  theirs.  The  school  has  helped  to  pre- 
vent the  soporific  influence  of  Time  from  grad- 
ually and  unprotestingly  lulling  the  youth  of 
the  country  into  insensibility  to  the  wounds  and 
sufferings  of  1870.  Education  has  been  used  to 
aid  in  molding  a  psychology  of  reparation. 

The  doctrine  of  revanche  has  been  fur- 
ther buttressed  in  the  schools  by  criticisms  of 
Germany  and  the  Germans,  which  amount  at 
times  to  an  inculcation  of  dislike,  antagon- 
ism, even  hatred.  Compayre,  for  example, 
in  a  book  of  moral  and  civic  instruction, 
warns  his  youthful  readers  against  enter- 
taining too  strong  a  liking  for  other  coun- 
tries, and  especially  against  any  friendly  feel- 
ing toward  Germany.  ' '  Do  not  place  in  the  same 
rank  in  your  affections  France,  which  is  your 
common  mother,  and  England,  Italy,  Spain. 
...  As  for  the  people  who  have  done  evil  to 
your  country,  who  have  ravaged  its  territory, 
who  have  massacred  its  infants,  how  could  you 
love  them  T '  ^  Other  writers  aver  that  Ger- 
many combines  the  brutality  of  barbarous  races 
with  the  intelligent  dissimulation  of  the  most 

^  Compayre :  Elements  d'lnstruetion  Morale  et  Civique, 
p.  62. 

73 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

civilized/  that  she  has  risen  to  power  by  in- 
trigue, cunning  and  abominable  warfare.^  The 
eminent  historian  Lavisse  accuses  her  of  hat- 
ing France,  against  whom  she  has  long  been 
planning  a  new  war,^  while  the  author  of  an- 
other historical  text  directly  advises  the  French 
to  cultivate  a  *^  patient  hatred  of  the  in- 
vader."* 

Such  hatred  toward  Germany  the  writer  of  a 
recent  book  of  moral  and  civic  instruction  dep- 
recates, yet  himself  naively  suggests  by  warn- 
ing French  youth  against  Teutonic  arrogance 
and  brutality. 

**Let  us  not  hate;  let  us  surpass!  Hatred 
is  a  low  sentiment.  Besides  no  passion  so  gen- 
erally prevents  one  from  observing  carefully 
and  reasoning  well.  Of  what  advantage  is  it, 
for  example,  to  hate  the  Germans  ?  Let  us  sur- 
pass them  in  ardor  for  work,  in  the  intelligent 
utilization  of  knowledge,  in  commercial  pa- 
tience.   Let  us  surpass  them  by  not  having  their 

^Pigeonneau:  L'Europe,  p.  215;  Recliis:  Geogi^aphie,  p. 
82. 

'  Pape-Carpantier :  Elements  de  Cosmographie,  Geogra- 
phie,  p.  82;  Dubois:    France  et  Colonies,  p.  132. 

'La  Nouvelle  Deuxieme  Annee  d'Histoire  de  France,  p. 
405  (Edition  of  1901) ;  Hanriot:   Vive  la  France,  p.  274. 

*  Pigeonneau :   Histoire  de  France,  p.  274. 

74 


HOSTILITY  TOWARD  GERMANY 

arrogance,  their  brutality,  their  disdain  for  the 
rights  of  other  nations.''  ^ 

That  Germany's  conduct  of  the  War  of  1870 
was  implacably  cruel  and  barbarous,^  character- 
ized also  by  insolence  and  brigandage,^  is  an- 
other of  the  accusations  brought  against  her. 
^'Recently,"  says  M.  Reclus,  ^'they  [the  Ger- 
mans] have  proved  that  the  basis  of  their  mo- 
rality is  Ziveckmdssigkeit  (the  end  justifies  the 
means)."  Germany  ^'has  shown  that  her  last 
word  is  a  brute-like  discipline,  a  science  com- 
manded by  ambition,  a  brutality  in  the  service 
of  violence,  and  a  national  pride  ministering 
to  madness."*  Not  infrequently,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  earlier  textbooks,  appear  stories 
of  those  atrocities  which  the  French  claim 
to  have  characterized  Germany's  invasion  of 
France  in  1870.  A  favorite  tale  is  that  of  the 
three  instructors  of  the  department  of  the 
Aisne,  whom  the  Germans  shot,  apparently  in 
order  to  terrorize  the  inhabitants  of  the  region 
through  which  the  invading  army  was  march- 

^Payot:  La  Morale  a  I'Ecole  (Quatrieme  edition,  1910), 
p.  227. 

^Duruy,  V.:  Petite  Histoire  Generale,  p.  247;  Hanriot: 
Vive  la  France,  p.  16;  Gerard:    Morale,  p.  227. 

'Pigeonneau:   Histoire  de  France,  p.  274. 

*  Reclus:    Geographie,  p.  82. 

75 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

ing.^  The  following  version  of  the  story  is 
given  in  the  ''Lectures  Pratiques"  of  MM.  Jost 
et  Braeunig :  ^ 

THE  THREE  INSTRUCTORS  OF  THE  AISNE 

''In  the  court  of  the  Normal  School  at  Laon 
stands  a  commemorative  monument,  the  face 
of  which,  in  black  marble,  bears  this  inscrip- 
tion: 

TO   THE   MEMORY 
OF   THE   THREE   INSTRUCTORS    OF   THE   AISNE 

SHOT  BY   THE   PRUSSIANS 

FOR    HAVING    DEFENDED    THEIR    FATHERLAND 

DURING    THE   WAR    OF    1870-1871 

THE  COUNCIL-GENERAL  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT 

*'With  what  facts  is  this  inscription  con- 
nected! In  1870,  after  the  unhappy  days  of 
Seichshotfen,  Gravelotte  and  Sedan,  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Aisne  was  invaded,  as  were  so  many 
other  French  departments.  Everywhere  the 
people  turned  to  the  duty  of  defending  the 
country. 

"The  instructors  did  not  content  themselves 

^  Laloi :  L'Annee  Preparatoire  d'Instruetion  Morale  et 
Civique,  pp.  109-110;  Lavisse:  Tu  Seras  Soldat,  pp.  37-45; 
etc. 

2  Pp.  161-164. 

76 


HOSTILITY  TOWARD  GERMANY 

with  teaching  patriotism,  they  preached  it  by 
example,  they  paid  their  debts  to  it  in  person 
— and  with  their  lives. 

*^At  Pasly,  Jules  Debordeaux,  at  the  head  of 
the  national  guard,  repulsed  the  enemy,  who 
were  seeking  to  throw  a  bridge  of  boats  across 
the  river  Aisne.  But  the  Germans  crossed  the 
river  at  another  point  and  turned  the  flank  of 
the  valiant  defenders.  In  place  of  honoring 
the  patriotism  and  the  courage  of  these  brave 
.Frenchmen,  they  maltreated  Jules  Debordeaux 
and  another  member  of  the  national  guard,  and 
shot  them  on  a  neighboring  hill,  firing  at  them 
one  after  the  other,  as  at  a  living  target,  and 
abandoning  the  bodies  without  burial. 

**At  Vauxrexis,  Poulette  had  distributed 
arms  to  the  national  guard.  The  Prussians 
shot  him  with  two  other  patriots.  Some  twenty 
persons,  arrested  as  hostages  and  cruelly  mal- 
treated, were  forced  to  bury  the  dead  bodies 
and  to  trample  on  the  soil  which  covered 
them. 

''At  Vendieres,  Leroy  was  arrested  in  his 
classroom,  in  the  midst  of  his  pupils ;  they  ac- 
cused him  of  having  been  one  of  a  body  of 
francs-tireurs.  He  had  not  been  out  of  his 
commune ;  he  had  not  left  his  class.    But  no  rea- 

77 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

son,  no  proof  was  necessary ;  he  was  torn  from 
Ms  family,  TDeaten,  led  to  Chalons  and  shot. 

*^  *Come,'  he  cried,  *come  and  see,  ye  people 
of  Chalons,  how  an  innocent  Frenchman  dies.' 
Of  four  condemned  men,  the  unfortunate  Leroy 
was  the  foilrth  to  be  shot.  To  the  last  moment 
he  held  his  right  hand  up,  as  though  still  to  af- 
firm his  innocence. 

^^  Leroy  had  taken  no  effective  part  in  the  de- 
fense of  the  country,  but  was  the  victim  of  a 
wicked  condemnation,  intended  above  all  to  ter- 
rorize the  people ;  but  he  died  a  man  of  courage 
and  his  name  should  be  associated  with  those 
of  his  colleagues  who  paid  with  their  lives  for 
their  devotion  to  the  Fatherland.'' 

Another  story  is  that  of  the  heroic  peasant 
woman  who  was  shot  by  the  Prussians  for 
refusing  to  betray  the  direction  taken  by  a 
French  regiment.^  Children  coming  under  the 
influences  of  such  teachings  must  naturally 
incline  to  look  upon  the  Germans  with  distrust 
and  dislike,  must  believe  them  capable  of  the 
worst  barbarities. 

*^When  their  eyes  were  moist  with  tears," 
says  General  Lavisse,  describing  the  effects  of 
such  recitals  on  the  pupils  of  a  school,  ^^when 

^  Lebaigue :   Le  Livre  de  I'Ecole.    Choix  de  Lectures,  etc. 

78 


HOSTILITY  TOWAED  GEEMANY 

indignation  was  depicted  on  their  faces  at  the 
memory  of  cruelties  inflicted,  the  master  was 
content.  These  young  hearts  would  love  France 
well,  since  they  already  knew  how  much  she 
had  to  suffer. ' '  ^ 

This  dark  and  somber  picture  of  Teutonism, 
however,  is  not  wholly  unrelieved  by  the  light 
of  praise.  Certain  qualities  of  the  Germans 
the  French  lad  is  called  upon  to  admire  and 
presumably  to  imitate.  The  perseverance  and 
the  spirit  of  discipline  by  which  Prussia  has 
become  powerful  are  commended ;  ^  so  also  is 
the  Teutonic  ardor  for  work.^  Guyau  says  that 
while  German  children  labor  less  quickly  than 
French,  they  do  so  with  no  less  courage.  They 
learn  and  preserve  the  habit  of  discipline,  the 
first  quality  of  a  soldier.*  In  rare  instances 
a  writer  rises  above  the  attitude  of  hostility  to 
something  approaching  friendliness.^  The  au- 
thors of  a  manual  of  moral  and  civic  instruc- 
tion even  go  so  far  as  to  maintain  that  the 

'Lavisse:    Tu  Seras  Soldat,  pp.  37-38. 

*Dupuy:    Livret  de  Geographie,  p.  18. 

'  Schrader  et  Gallouedec :  Cours  General  de  Geographie, 
p.  504. 

*L'Annee  Preparatoire,  etc.  Cours  Elementaire,  pp. 
199-200. 

'  Villain,  Comtois  et  Loiret :  La  Lecture  du  Jour. 

79 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

French  should  love  all  men,  whatever  their  race, 
religion  or  nationality,  and  those  who  hold  that 
Germans  or  Englishmen  onght  to  be  detested 
are  not  patriots  but  ignoramuses.^  Such  a 
statement,  however,  is  exceptional  rather  than 
typical.  A  grudging  admiration  may,  indeed, 
be  yielded  to  certain  qualities  of  the  Ger- 
mans, but  a  desire  for  really  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  neighboring  country  is  seldom 
evinced. 

In  spite  of  all  that  has  been  said,  however, 
it  may  be  affirmed  that  if  the  teaching  of  hos- 
tility thus  far  described  constitutes  an  indict- 
ment, it  is  an  indictment  against  individual 
writers  rather  than  against  the  government  of 
France  or  the  nation  as  a  whole.  True,  cer- 
tain of  the  textbooks  in  which  antipathy  to  the 
Teutons  has  been  expressed  have  been  extraor- 
dinarily well  received  in  France.  Compayre's 
book  of  moral  and  civic  instruction,  to  which 
reference  has  been  made,  had  at  an  early  date 
reached  its  112th  edition  and  was  carried  on 
all  the  departmental  lists.^  Foncin's  elemen- 
tary geography  had,  shortly  before  the  war, 
gone  through  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  edi- 

^Aulard  et  Bayet:   Morale,  Part  I.,  p.  85. 

*  Compayre :    Elements  d'Instruction  Morale  et  Civique. 

80 


HOSTILITY  TOWAED  GEEMANY 

tions ;  ^  and  a  number  of  other  books  cliaracter- 
ized  by  antagonism  to  Germany  have  enjoyed 
wide  sales.^  Nevertheless,  there  is  no  mention 
of  revanche  in  certain  books  where  it  might 
easily  have  been  introduced,  while  in  others  it 
has  received  but  the  barest  recognition,  the 
slightest  of  allusions;  to  the  authors  of  such 
works,  apparently,  the  doctrine  has  not  become 
a  burning  ideal.  Furthermore,  there  has  been 
no  enforcement  of  the  teaching  of  revanche  or 
of  criticism  of  Germany,  so  far  as  I  have  found, 
in  the  school  programs  published  before  the 
war.  Therefore  such  instruction  has  lacked  the 
systematic  character  and  the  uniformity  of  the 
teaching  whose  aim  has  been  to  form  a  psy- 
chological preparation  for  the  national  defense. 
Furthermore,  the  doctrine  of  revanche  in  the 
schools  has  been  modified  by  the  influence  of 
certain  ideals  and  principles  which  cannot  be 
discussed  in  the  present  chapter  but  which  will 

^Geographie  (Premiere  Annee),  Coiirs  Moyen,  p.  29. 

'Blanehet:  Histoire  de  France,  196th  edition  in  1904; 
Rocherolles:  Les  Secondes  Lectures  Enfantines,  46th  edi- 
tion in  1904;  Jost  et  Braeunig:  Lectures  Pratiques,  17th 
edition  in  1899;  Chalamet:  Jean  Felber,  48th  edition,  date 
not  given;  Lanier,  Rogeaux  et  Laborde:  La  France  et  ses 
Colonies.  Cours  du  Certificat  d'Etudes  Primaires,  30th  edi- 
tion in  1905,  etc. 

81 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

be  dealt  with  later.  Suffice  it  to  say  here,  then, 
that  the  country  has  not  lent  complete  support 
to  bellicose  teachings. 

Possibly,  however,  the  future  will  see  a 
change  in  this  respect.  At  any  rate,  if  report 
be  true,  the  inculcation  of  hostility  toward  Ger- 
many bids  fair  to  become  general.  According 
to  word  received  in  this  country  in  the  autumn 
of  1915,  the  Ministry  of  Public  Instruction  has 
distributed  *Ho  all  the  school  teachers  in  France 
a  manual  of  information  on  what  they  should 
have  in  mind  in  teaching  history  to  their 
classes."  In  this  manual,  Paul  Deschanel, 
President  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  recalls 
the  atrocities  of  1870,  declares  that  the  gener- 
osity of  France  has  caused  her  to  forget  too 
easily,  and  advises  the  teachers  not  to  allow 
the  lessons  of  the  great  war  to  pass  from  the 
minds  of  the  children  now  growing  up,  as  easily 
as  the  lessons  of  the  Franco-German  War  were 
allowed  to  pass  from  the  minds  of  their  elders.^ 
Thus,  if  this  evidence  can  be  trusted,  antago- 
nism to  the  * '  Boches ' '  is  being  transmitted  sys- 
tematically and  officially  to  yet  another  genera- 
tion of  Frenchmen. 

^  New  York  Times  for  September  IS,  1915.  The  item  is 
cabled  from  Paris  and  is  dated  September  17. 

82 


HOSTILITY  TOWAKD  GEKMANY 

It  would,  indeed,  be  easy  to  condemn  this 
sort  of  instruction  wholesale ;  but  there  is  some- 
thing ludicrous  in  the  attitude  of  the  armchair 
moralist  who  ventures  to  sit  in  judgment  on 
the  wickedness  of  those  who  are  attempting 
seriously  to  render  a  service  to  their  Father- 
land. Without  impropriety,  however,  the  out- 
sider may  tentatively  inquire  whether  the  pos- 
sible advantages  of  such  teaching  outweigh  its 
possible  disadvantages.  The  doctrine  of  re- 
vanche does  not,  indeed,  lack  point  or  definite- 
ness.  Its  dissemination  in  the  schools  would 
naturally  incline  a  larger  number  of  French- 
men than  otherwise  to  take  up  the  cudgels 
against  Germany.  Presumably  it  would  in- 
crease willingness  to  support  a  large  army  and 
would  supply  a  cogent  argument  for  the  tedi- 
ous years  of  military  training  preparatory  to 
actual  warfare.  It  might  lend  a  fury  of  effec- 
tiveness to  the  fighting  of  the  French  when  at 
last  the  enemy  should  appear  at  the  gates. 
Thus  it  would  tend  to  foster  a  certain  kind  of 
loyalty  to  the  Fatherland. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  must  always  lie  a 
grave  danger  to  society  in  education  thus  tinc- 
tured with  chauvinism.  Even  though  this  sort 
of  instruction  has  not  been  universal  it  has 

83 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

tended  to  breed  in  the  hearts  of  many  French- 
men suspicion  of  the  good  faith  of  their  neigh- 
bors, while  it  has  naturally  weakened  German 
confidence  in  the  peaceful  intentions  of  France. 
For,  of  course,  it  was  well  known  in  the  land 
beyond  the  Rhine  that  Frenchmen  were  incul- 
cating hostility  toward  Germany.  Further- 
more, it  is  in  a  soil  of  mutual  suspicion  and  ilL- 
will  that  modern  warfare  breeds  most  easily. 
*'The  causes  of  war  in  the  future,'^  wrote  ex- 
President  Eliot  several  years  ago,  ''are  likely 
to  be  national  distrusts,  dislikes,  and  apprehen- 
sions, which  have  been  nursed  in  ignorance,  and 
fed  on  rumors,  suspicions,  and  conjectures 
propagated  by  unscrupulous  newsmongers,  un- 
til suddenly  developed  by  some  untoward  event 
into  active  hatred,  or  widespread  alarm  which 
easily  passes  into  panic. ' '  ^  But  if  unscrupu- 
lous journalism  is  dangerous,  how  much  more 
so  is  that  chauvinistic  instruction  which  in  the 
impressionable  years  of  life  creates  a  militant 
bias  from  which  biology  itself  makes  escape  dif- 
ficult after  manhood  has  been  reached!  That 
the  sufferings  and  passions  of  war  should  now 

^  Eliot,  C.  W. :  Some  Roads  Toward  Peace.  Carnegie 
Endowment  for  International  Peace.  Division  of  Inter- 
course and  Education.    Publication  No.  I,  p.  14. 

84 


HOSTILITY  TOWAED  GERMANY 

incline  the  French  to  transmit  to  their  children 
their  present  feelings  of  bitterness  against  the 
invaders  of  their  country  is  natural.  But  let 
us  hope  that  when  the  smoke  of  today's  con- 
flict has  at  last  cleared  away,  that  noble  and 
generous  people,  to  whose  humanitarian  ideals 
the  world  already  owes  so  much,  will  hasten  the 
day  of  universal  peace  through  an  education  at 
once  fair-minded  and  tolerant,  just  and  forgiv- 
ing. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY  TO  THE  REPUBLIC 

On  the  fourth  of  September,  1870,  France  be- 
came a  republic  for  the  third  time.  Two  days 
before,  at  Sedan,  the  gallantly  of  French  arms 
had  yielded  to  the  efficiency  and  bravery  of 
Prussian  discipline.  The  mediocre  adventurer 
who  had  followed  the  star  of  destiny  to  the 
throne  of  empire  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy.  The  news  had  come  to  Paris,  had 
been  communicated  to  the  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties, and  this  body  ^4n  the  midst  of  a  glacial 
silence*'^  had  voted  the  dethronement  of  Na- 
poleon III.  The  power  of  the  man  who  had 
been  at  the  head  of  the  French  nation  since 
1848,  first  as  president,  then  as  emperor,  had 
fallen  like  a  house  of  cards.  Now,  on  the  fourth, 
a  throng  of  people — a  mob,  if  you  will — burst 
into  the  hall  where  the  Assembly  was  sitting. 
There  were  cries  of  ^ '  Down  with  the  Empire ! '  * 

^  De   Coubertin :     The   Evolution   of   France   under   the 
Third  Republic,  p.  3. 

86 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

**Long  live  the  Republic !''  The  leaders  of  the 
opposition  were  seized,  were  marched  through 
the  streets  of  Paris  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville.  There 
the  Eepublic  was  solemnly  proclaimed.  Thus 
suddenly,  after  the  French  manner,  was  initi- 
ated that  form  of  government  which  has  served 
France  for  more  than  forty-five  years. 

It  was  to  all  appearances  but  a  fragile  bark 
that  was  thus  launched  on  the  stormy  seas  of 
warfare  and  politics.  There  were  many  in 
those  early  days  who  felt  that  the  Republic 
would  founder  ere  she  had  well  begun  her  voy- 
age. There  have  been  many  since  who  have 
predicted  that  she  could  never  hold  her  course. 
For  from  the  outset  she  has  been  threatened 
by  grave  dangers.  First  it  seemed  that  the  ship 
of  state  might  fall  afoul  of  the  rock-ribbed 
principle  of  monarchy.  This  might  take  the 
form  of  a  Legitimist  restoration,  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  Bonapartist  claims  to  empire  or  the 
lifting  to  power  of  some  new  adventurer.  Then 
there  were  the  lowering  clouds  of  clerical  dis- 
favor, perhaps  not  seriously  endangering,  but 
at  any  rate  overshadowing  the  safety  of  the 
Republic.  Thirdly,  the  new  government  might 
be  engulfed  in  the  whirlpool  of  social  revolu- 
tion.   In  the  angry  tempest  of  war  now  raging 

87 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

these  dangers  take  on  new  significance;  and 
France  is  fortunate  in  having  safeguarded 
herself  against  internal  crisis  by  an  education 
of  loyalty,  as  she  has  armed  herself  against 
external  crisis  by  an  education  in  patriot- 
ism. 

For  some  years  after  the  Franco-German 
War  the  menace  of  monarchical  restoration  lay 
heavy  on  the  hearts  of  those  who  loved  the  Ee- 
public.  The  National  Assembly,  chosen  to  de- 
cide the  question  of  war  or  peace  with  Germany, 
contained  a  majority  of  monarchists;  for  the 
peasant  electors  had  feared  that  the  Republi- 
can party  would  attempt  to  prolong  the  strug- 
gle. Naturally  this  Assembly  aimed  to  re- 
establish a  throne  in  France.  Therefore  it  con- 
tinued to  sit  after  it  had  completed  the  task  for 
which  it  had  been  convened.  But  its  members 
were  divided  in  regard  to  candidates.  Some 
supported  the  Bourbon,  the  'legitimate"  line, 
others  the  House  of  Orleans,  while  still  others 
remained  loyal  to  the  dynasty  of  the  Bona- 
partes.  Furthermore,  the  Assembly  found  an 
obstacle  to  the  accomplishment  of  a  monarchical 
restoration  in  the  person  of  Adolphe  Thiers, 
the  astute  old  gentleman  who  for  the  time  being 
held  the  office  of  President  of  the  Republic. 

88 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

Himself  a  monarcliist,  a  former  minister  of 
Louis  Philippe,  Thiers  felt  the  Republic  to  be 
conducive  to  internal  tranquillity.  It  was  he 
who  invented  the  happy  formula,  '  ^  The  Repub- 
lic is  the  form  of  government  that  divides  us 
least/'  He  therefore  advocated  its  continu- 
ance. He  succeeded  in  converting  many  depu- 
ties to  his  views,  and  the  monarchists,  alarmed 
for  their  cause,  brought  about  his  resignation 
in  1873. 

In  that  year  the  prospect  seemed  bright  that 
a  king  would  soon  be  seated  on  the  throne  of 
France.  Between  Legitimists  and  Orleanists  an 
agreement  was  being  arranged.  The  Comte  de 
Chambord,  the  Bourbon  claimant  to  the  throne, 
was  childless,  and  so  consented  to  acknowledge 
as  his  heir  the  Comte  de  Paris,  who  represented 
the  House  of  Orleans.  But  a  seeming  trifle 
spoiled  the  plan.  The  Comte  de  Chambord,  in- 
heritor of  Bourbon  pride  and  Bourbon  obsti- 
nacy, refused  to  accept  the  tricolor  flag,  insist- 
ing on  the  fleur-de-lis,  that  ancient  emblem  of 
absolutism.  No  amount  of  persuasion  could 
make  the  old  man  change  his  mind,  and  to 
his  decision  the  monarchists  perforce  must 
yield. 

Nevertheless  they  did  not  lose  heart,  but  took 
89 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

such  measures  as  seemed  best  suited  to  the  ulti- 
mate triumph  of  their  cause.  A  law  fixed  the 
president's  term  of  office  at  seven  years.  Dur- 
ing this  long  period  much  might  happen.  For 
example,  Chambord  might  die,  and  the  more 
tractable  Comte  de  Paris  would  then  become  the 
candidate  of  two  monarchical  parties.  Mean- 
while a  supposedly  staunch  ro^^alist,  Marshal 
MacMahon,  was  elected  president.  Alas  for  the 
hopes  of  those  who  would  fain  be  ruled  by  a 
king!  Republican  influence  grew  steadily  dur- 
ing MacMahon 's  presidency,  and  he,  finding 
himself  utterly  at  odds  with  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  resigned  in  1879,  a  year  before  the 
normal  expiration  of  his  term.  Immediate  dan- 
ger of  one-man  rule  ceased,  and  frightened  Re- 
publicans breathed  easily  again. 

The  peril  to  the  existing  government  was  re- 
vived a  few  years  later,  however.  The  three 
years  from  1886  to  1889  constituted  a  period  of 
nervous  political  tension.  Scandals  in  the  house- 
hold of  the  president,  petty  bickerings  in  poli- 
tics, colonial  ambitions  of  which  many  disap- 
proved, and  the  storm-attended  secularization 
of  education  brought  discontent  and  aroused  en- 
mity toward  the  Republic.  Wiseacres  pointed 
out  that  no  form  of  government  in  France  since 

90 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

1789  had  lasted  more  than  eighteen  years ;  they 
saw  no  reason  why  the  Eepublic  should  be  an 
exception.  Hence  the  French  love  of  change, 
the  French  tendency  to  hero-worship,  fastened 
themselves  on  the  person  of  the  dashing  Gen- 
eral Boulanger.  This  handsome  and  popular 
*^Man  on  Horseback''  appeared  quite  willing  to 
play  the  role  of  dictator,  which  destiny  seemed 
to  have  assigned  him.  For  a  time  he  filled 
Eepublican  leaders  with  apprehension.  But  he 
lacked  the  courage  for  a  coup  d'etat,  and  fear- 
ing to  face  the  charges  of  conspiracy  brought 
against  him,  fled  to  Belgium  where  he  later 
committed  suicide.  The  Republic  emerged  from 
the  fiasco  stronger  than  ever.  Nevertheless  the 
vague  shadow  of  Caesarism  ever  lurks  in  the 
background  of  French  politics.  '*  Nervous  Re- 
publicans ..."  says  the  Abbe  Dimnet,  *^  dread 
the  possibility  of  having  to  love  another  dic- 
tator.''^ 

Naturally  enough,  therefore,  the  public  school 
has  come  to  the  rescue  of  those  who  would  pre- 
vent the  national  tendency  to  hero-worship  from 
hypnotizing  the  mind  of  France.  It  may  sur- 
prise admirers  of  Napoleon  I  to  learn  how 
badly  he  fares  at  the  hands  of  the  writers  of 

^  Dimnet :   France  Herself  Again,  p.  72. 
91 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

Frencli  textbooks.  True,  he  is  admitted  to  have 
been  a  great  captain,^  a  wonderful  admin- 
istrator and  legislator.^  One  writer  goes  so 
far  as  to  say  that  ^^his  institutions,  his  ardent 
love  for  France,  the  services  he  had  rendered, 
should  cause  his  faults,  harshly  expiated,  to  be 
pardoned.''^  But  this,  the  only  really  com- 
mendatory summary  of  Napoleon's  character  I 
have  found  in  the  textbooks,  is  as  nothing  in 
comparison  with  the  avalanche  of  condemna- 
tion which  has  overwhelmed  the  Corsican's 
name.  **When  I  teach  you  that  Napoleon  I 
reigned  from  1804  to  1815, 1  contribute  to  your 
instruction, ' '  says  Compayre,  ^ '  but  when  I  show 
you  that  Napoleon  I  was  an  ambitious  man,  an 
egotist,  who  for  the  satisfaction  of  his  vanity 
made  millions  of  men  perish,  I  contribute  to 
your  education. ' '  *  Napoleon  is  criticized  for 
tne  war  with  Spain,  for  the  Russian  campaign, 

^  Blanchet  et  Pinard :  Cours  Complet,  p.  528 :  ibid.,  pp. 
543,  544;  Jallifier  et  Vast:  Cours  Complet  d'Histoire. 
Cours  Troisieme.  Histoire  Contemporaine,  p.  177;  La- 
visse:  Livret  d'Histoire,  p.  38;  Aulard  et  Bayet:  Morale, 
Part  I,  p.  170. 

2  Jallifier  et  Vast,  op.  eit.,  p.  177 ;  Lavisse :  Livret  d'His- 
toire, p.  39. 

^Pigeonneau:  Histoire  de  France,  p.  217  (lOth  edition, 
1882). 

*  Elements  d'Instruction  Morale  et  Civique,  p.  34. 

92 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

for  the  final  loss  of  his  conquests/  for  his  piti- 
less censorship  of  the  press,-  for  his  inability 
to  endure  contradiction,^  for  his  persecution  of 
the  Eepublicans  who  refused  to  serve  him.^  It 
is  said  that  he  lacked  political  insight,  spilled 
the  blood  of  France  in  unreasonable  and  unjust 
wars,  and  changed  to  hatred  the  love  with  which 
that  country  had  inspired  Europe.^  In  com- 
menting on  the  conclusion  of  the  Egyptian  cam- 
paign a  writer  says:  ^' There  returned  from 
the  Orient  a  young  hero,  .  .  .  who,  everywhere 
conqueror  of  nature  and  men,  wise,  moderate, 
religious,  seemed  born  to  enchant  the  world. 
.  .  .  Nevertheless,  after  some  years,  this  wise 
man,  now  changed  to  a  fool  .  .  .  immolated  a 
million  men,  .  .  .  drew  Europe  upon  France, 
which  he  left  vanquished,  drowned  in  her  own 
blood,  .  .  .  desolated.  Who  could  have  fore- 
seen that  the  wise  man  of  1800  would  be  the 
madman  of  1813?  Yes,  one  could  have  fore- 
seen it  by  remembering  that  absolute  power 

^  Ibid.,  p.  24 ;  Lavisse :  Livret  d'Histoire  de  France,  Opus- 
cule du  Maitre,  p.  32;  Lebaigue:  Le  Livre  de  I'Ecole. 
Cours  superieur,  p.  248. 

2 Bernard  et  Thomas:   Resume,  p.  166. 

3  Ibid. 

*Aulard  et  Debidour:   Notions  d'Histoire,  p.  279. 

^Lefran§ais:    Lectures  Patriotiques,  p.  247. 

93 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

carries  in  itself  an  incurable  madness."^ 
The  historian  Lavisse,  after  commending  him 
for  the  institutions  that  he  established,  con- 
cludes, ^  ^  But  in  founding  equality  he  forgot  lib- 
erty. He  desired  to  rule  France,  as  he  did  his 
soldiers,  without  contradiction.  He  treated  as 
public  enemies  all  those  who  attempted  to  re- 
sist him,  and  who  claimed,  even  timidly,  the 
liberties  which  the  Constituent  Assembly  had 
given  to  the  people.  His  own  will  he  recognized 
as  the  sole  law.  His  pride  finally  destroyed 
him;  he  was  the  artisan  of  his  own  ruin,  and 
after  so  many  victories  and  conquests,  he  left 
France  smaller  than  he  had  found  her,  thus 
demonstrating  that  a  nation  commits  an  irrep- 
arable mistake  in  abandoning  itself  to  one  man, 
even  when  that  man  has  received  the  gift 
of  genius.  * '  ^  Thus  for  his  pride,  for  his  ego- 
tism, for  his  despotism,  the  Corsican  who  gave 
his  name  to  an  era  has  been  held  up  to  the  youth 
of  France  as  a  warning.  ^*Let  us  admire  his 
\  military  genius,'*  says  the  author  of  a  histori- 
cal text,  '^but  let  us  not  desire  to  find  again  a 

1  Lebaigiie :  Le  Livre  de  I'Ecole.    Cours  Superieur,  p.  248, 
quoting  Thiers. 

2 Lavisse:    La  Nouvelle  Deuxieme  Annee  d'Histoire  de 
France,  p.  336. 

94 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

new  Bonaparte.    He  has  done  too  much  evil  to 
France."  ^^i^ 

Louis  Napoleon  shares  the  opprobrium  which 
attaches  to  his  uncle's  name.  ** Inconceivable 
irony  of  revolutions!''  exclaim  the  authors  of 
a  school  history.  *^He  [Napoleon  III]  was 
promised  the  presidency  of  the  Second  Eepub- 
lic  because  he  was  the  nephew  of  him  who 
destroyed  the  first. ' '  ^  His  coup  d  'etat  of  De- 
cember 2,  1851,  by  means  of  which  he  paved  the 
way  for  the  establishment  of  the  Empire,  is  said 
to  have  been  a  wicked  violation  of  his  oath,  a 
crime  against  the  state. ^  School  children  have 
not  been  allowed  to  forget  the  martyrdom  of 
the  deputy  Baudry,  who  was  killed  while  pro- 
testing against  the  coup  d'etat,  at  the  very  mo- 
ment when  he  was  adjuring  the  soldiers  to  re- 
fuse to  violate  the  law.^  ^^  Better  to  be  killed 
in  doing  one's  duty,"  says  Paul  Bert,  ^^than  to 

^  Normand :    Biogi-aphies  et  Scenes  Historiques,  p.  208, 

2  Bernard  et  Thomas :  Resume  Chronologique  de  I'His- 
toire  des  Fran^ais,  p.  189. 

^  Aulard  et  Debidour :  Notions  d'Histoire,  pp.  336-337 ; 
Lefran^ais:  Lectures  Patriotiques,  pp.  247-248;  Villain, 
Comtois  et  Loiret,  op.  eit.,  p.  135;  Lavisse:  La  Nouvelle 
Deuxieme  Annee  d'Histoire  de  France,  p.  270. 

*Burle:  L'Histoire  Nationale  Racontee  aux  Enfants,  p. 
56;  Bert:  L'Instruction  Civique,  p.  78. 

95 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

live  in  wealth  and  power  after  having  violated 
the  law  and  proved  false  to  one's  oaths  like 
Louis  Bonaparte. ' '  ^ 

So,  too,  his  foreign  policy  has  received  se- 
vere condemnation.  Especially  is  he  held  re- 
sponsible for  causing  the  Franco-German  War,^ 
for  Sedan,^and  for  the  loss  of  Alsace-Lorraine.* 
*^  Napoleon  III  declared  war  without  rhyme  or 
reason,  on  the  Eussians,  the  Austrians,  the  Mex- 
icans, the  Prussians,"  says  one  writer,  *^and 
finally  he  brought  about  the  loss  of  Alsace  and 
Lorraine,  to  say  nothing  of  the  billions  of  in- 
demnity that  had  to  be  paid. ' '  ^  ^'  The  imperial 
government,*'  says  another,  '^had  ill  prepared 
Prance  for  a  war  which  its  policy  had  rendered 
inevitable. ' '  ^ 

This  severity  of  criticism  has,  indeed,  been 
tempered  by  a  more  tolerant  attitude  in  some 
of  the  more  recent  textbooks,  which  tend  to 

^  Bert :   L'Instruction  Cmque,  p.  78. 

2  Ibid. ;  Blanchet  et  Pinard :  Cours  Complet,  p.  594 ;  Burle : 
L'Histoire  Nationale  Racontee  aux  Enfants,  p.  65;  Auge  et 
Petit:  Histoire  de  France.    Cours  Moyen,  p.  179. 

2  Bernard  et  Thomas,  op.  cit.,  p.  189 ;  Villain,  Comtois  et 
Loiret:  La  Lecture  du  Jour,  p.  135. 

^Bert:   L'Instruction  Civique,  p.  25. 

^  Ibid. 

®  Blanchet  et  Pinard :    Cours  Complet,  p.  594. 

96 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

stress  liis  weakness  rather  than  his  wicked- 
ness. ^^The  emperor  was  good,  with  a  good- 
ness which  amounted  to  feebleness,"^  accord- 
ing to  one  of  these  texts,  but  he  ^^  sacrificed  to 
his  dynastic  and  personal  interests  the  sacred 
interest  of  his  country. ' '  ^  Thus  has  education 
dissipated  something  of  the  glamour  that  has 
hung  so  long  over  this  dynasty  of  adventurers. 
The  public  school  has  distinctly  impeded  the 
progress  of  the  Bonapartist  propaganda  in 
France. 

Attacks  on  the  two  Napoleons,  however,  do 
not  constitute  the  sole  evidence  of  the  deter- 
mination of  textbook  writers  to  exorcise  from 
the  hearts  of  future  citizens  possible  desires  for 
monarchical  rule.  It  is  noteworthy  that  a  long 
list  of  the  great  men  of  France  given  in  a  cer- 
tain school  manual  does  not  include  a  single 
ruler,  not  even  Charlemagne  or  St.  Louis. ^ 
Gerard  condemns  monarchical  government  as 
the  form  farthest  removed  from  the  ideal.* 
Compayre  says  that  a  king  or  emperor  is  al- 

^  Jallifier  et  Vast :    Cours  Complet  d'Histoire.     Cours  de 
Troisieme.    Histoire  Contemporaine,  p.  404. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  415. 

^Hanriot:    Vive  la  France,  pp.  218-250. 
*Gerai-d:    Morale,  p.  196. 

97 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

ways  more  disposed  to  give  heed  to  his  own 
wants,  or  to  show  complacency  toward  cour- 
tiers, than  to  consult  the  public  interests.^  The 
possibility  of  a  monarchical  revolution  is  thus 
brought  home  to  the  youth  of  France  by  the  au- 
thors of  a  school  reader: 
/  *^Ah,  well!  you  will  say,  we  can  be  tranquil 
now.  The  Republic  is  firmly  established ;  no  one 
wishes  to  attempt  to  overthrow  it.  History  re- 
plies to  you:  ^Have  you  forgotten  the  coup 
d'etat  of  the  18tli  brumaire,  1799,  and  of  the 
second  of  December,  1851,  and  the  Napoleonic 
despotisms  ...  1  Have  you  forgotten  the  Bou- 
langist  movement  which — in  spite  of  the  awak- 
ening of  Sedan — came  near  submerging  all  the 
country,  and  crushing  it  anew  under  a  soldier's 
boot?  Who  assures  you  that  we  shall  not  see 
again,  grouped  around  a  ^liberator,'  a  preten- 
der, those  people  who  are  at  all  periods  ac- 
complices of  movements  of  violence  ? 

*  ^  This  peril,  always  to  be  feared,  is  for  us  to 
avoid.  * '  2 

For  reasons  of  this  sort,  the  two  historians, 
Aulard  and  Lavisse,  diametrically  opposed  as 
are  their  views  in  many  respects,  unite  in  urg- 

^  Elements  d'Instruction  Morale  et  Civique,  p.  169. 

2  Villain,  Comtois  et  Loiret :   La  Lecture  du  Jour,  p.  204. 

•98 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

ing  the  future  citizens  of  France  not  to  vote 
for  deputies  who  would  seek  to  subject  the 
country  to  the  rule  of  one  man.^ 

Possibly  there  has  been  little  real  danger  of  a 
coup  d'etat  in  twentieth-century  France;  but  if 
there  has  been  any,  the  war  has  inevitably  in- 
creased it.  It  is  reported  that  the  royalist  finds  • 
himself  in  greater  favor  than  formerly.  The 
successful  general,  too,  receives  the  plaudits  of 
all  France,  and  moves  in  an  atmosphere  of  hero- 
worship.  Indeed  it  is  said  to  recommend  Jof- 
fre  in  the  eyes  of  his  civil  superiors  that  he  is 
not  too  spectacular,  not  inclined,  apparently, 
to  take  advantage  of  the  luster  which  attaches 
to  his  name.  Yet  there  are  those  who  fear  even 
Joffre's  power.  Whatever  danger,  however, 
there  may  be  of  a  new  **Man  on  Horseback,'' 
that  danger  has  been  much  diminished  by  the 
teachings  of  the  school.  Children  have  been 
taught  to  look  with  horror  on  the  man  who 
would  use  France  to  further  his  own  ambitions. 

^  Lavisse :  La  Nouvelle  Deuxieme  Annee  d'Histoire  de 
France,  p.  404;  Nationalism  is  unmercifully  condemned  in 
Aulard  et  Debidour :  Notions  d'Histoire,  p.  382,  "Le  nation- 
alisme  n'est  autre  chose  que  le  Boulangisme  reconstitue 
(sans  Boulanger),  par  les  cesariens,  les  royalistes,  les  cle- 
ricaux,  c'est  a  dire  les  ennemis  tou jours  acharnes — mais  tou- 
jours  impuissants — de  nos  libres  institutions." 

99 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

^'Clericalism — That  is  the  enemy.''  It  was 
Gambetta  who  thus  pointed  his  accusing  finger 
at  that  power  which  he  believed  was  subtly- 
striving  to  undermine  the  growing  strength  of 
the  Eepublic.  And  indeed  the  ancient  friend- 
ship between  throne  and  altar  had  not  ceased 
with  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  III.  Not  with- 
out justification  is  the  contention  that  in  those 
years  of  doubt  before  the  Republic  had  fuUy 
come  to  its  own,  zealous  servants  of  the  Church 
were  influencing  the  children  to  a  belief  in  mon- 
archy. The  bloody  days  of  June  in  1848,  the 
Commune  of  1871,  argues  a  Catholic  textbook 
of  this  period,  have  led  many  virtuous  people 
to  an  aversion  for  Republican  rule.^  Monarchy 
is  essential  to  peace  and  the  establishment  of 
the  European  equilibrium.-  The  school  must 
be  freed  from  the  influence  of  the  Church — so 

^  Colart :    Histoire  de  France,  p.  206. 

2  Ibid.,  Introduction,  p.  9 ;  Colart  attacks  Gambetta  di- 
rectly. "A  cause  de  ses  attaches  au  parti  radical,  il  ne  peut 
empecher  Penvahissement  des  differentes  administrations 
par  les  declasses  de  la  faction.  De  la  tant  de  scandales; 
dilapidations  par  certains  foumisseurs,  generaux  impro- 
vises, violences  contre  les  hommes  d'ordre,  municipalites 
ignorantes  et  audacieuses,  exees  sanglants  a  Lyon,  a  Mar- 
seille, a  Perpignan,"  p.  26.  See  also  Bert,  P.:  L'lnstruc- 
tion  Religieuse  dans  I'Ecole,  p.  57;  Zevort:  Troisieme 
Republique,  pp.  35,  97. 

100 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

thought  Eepublicans — ^before  the  government 
would  cease  to  be  endangered  by  clericalism. 

Public  education  was  captured  from  the 
Church  in  the  early  eighties,  as  has  already 
been  pointed  out ;  and  the  Republic  was  free  to 
use  the  school  to  carry  out  its  own  aims.  Never- 
theless there  were  those  who  were  not  satisfied, 
who  still  felt  the  Church  to  be  a  menace  to  the 
state.  They  wanted  the  government  to  cease 
paying  salaries  to  the  clergy;  they  desired  the 
extinction  of  private  religious  schools.  Indeed, 
in  the  excitement  that  followed  the  Dreyfus 
case,  opposition  to  the  Church  became  almost  a 
mania.  The  extreme  anti-clerical  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  forgive  his  Maker  for  pretending  to  ex- 
ist, while  the  hope  of  immortality  was  con- 
strued into  an  insult  to  the  Third  Eepublic. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  here  the  details 
of  the  complex  final  struggle  between  Church 
and  State.  The  separation  was  ordered  by  the 
laws  of  1905 ;  and  another  act  provided  that  by 
1914  all  teaching  by  religious  orders  should 
cease.  In  the  conflict  the  public  school  was 
theoretically  neutral.  The  primary  school 
teacher  was  definitely  instructed  through  the 
official  programs  to  avoid  anything  in  lan- 
guage or  attitude  that  might  wound  the  re- 

101 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

ligious  beliefs  of  the  children  confided  to  his 
care,  or  that  might  trouble  their  hearts !  ^  Tol- 
erance was  one  of  the  great  ideals  transmitted 
to  the  Third  Kepublic  by  the  Revolution.  To 
that  ideal,  Republicans  maintained  they  would 
be  true. 

Practically,  however,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  lay  school  was  used  actively  to  safe- 
guard the  state  against  the  real  or  supposed 
peril  of  clericalism.  Neutrality  was  violated. 
An  alarmed  pedantry  insisted  on  striking  from 
a  popular  Latin  grammar  the  expression  ^^Deus 
est  SanctuSj''^  ^  and  in  a  school  edition  of  La 
Fontaine's  Fables,  the  latter  part  of  the  sen- 
tence ^^ Petit  poisson  deviendra  grand,  si  Dieu 
lui  prete  vie''  was  changed  to  *' Si  Von  lui  prete 
vie/' ^  But  such  changes,  foolish  though  they 
might  be,  the  children  themselves  would  pass 
over  unnoticed — unless  indeed  they  were  pre- 
cociously inclined   to   text  criticism.     Uncon- 

^  Plan  d'Etudes  des  Ecoles  Primaires  JElementaires  (1887- 
1909),  p.  42:  ibid.,  pp.  41,  45;  ibid.,  1882,  p.  35:  Plan 
d'Etudes  .  .  .  des  Ecoles  Primaires  Normales,  1905,  p.  6 : 
Plan  d'Etudes  .  .  .  des  Ecoles  Primaires  Superieures,  1909, 
p.  47. 

2  Chatterton-Hill :  Decline  of  the  French  Republic,  Nine- 
teenth Century,  Vol.  72,  pp.  273  ff. 

3  Ibid. 

102 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

scious  of  the  expurgation  of  the  Deity,  their  re- 
ligious beliefs  would  remain  as  before.  But 
what  of  the  little  lady  trained  to  a  trustful  faith 
in  the  Catholic  Church  as  the  sole  road  to  sal- 
vation, who  reads  in  a  book  of  moral  instruc- 
tion the  following  passage : 

*'No  one  belief  in  regard  to  God,  the  origin  of 
the  world  and  the  destiny  of  Man  is  accepted 
by  all  thinking  beings:  on  these  questions  we 
can  but  make  suppositions. 

*  ^  Three  great  religions  are  shared  by  the  ma- 
jority of  men:  Buddhism,  Christianity,  Mo- 
hammedanism. These  three  religions  are  not  in 
accord  on  any  dogma.  Christians  themselves 
are  divided  into  Protestants,  Eoman  Catholics 
and  Greek  Catholics,  etc.  These  are  not  in  ac- 
cord in  belief. 

''This  proves  that  no  one  knows  the  whole 
truth,  so  it  is  foolish  and  criminal  to  wish  to 
persecute  someone  who  does  not  share  our  be- 
liefs. Let  everyone  believe  according  to  his 
feelings.  Let  everyone  be  free  to  believe  or  not 
to  believe."^ 

A  mature  mind  might  not  be  disturbed  by 
such  teachings,  but  they  are  well  adapted  to 
plant  in  the  heart  of  a  child  the  germs  of  doubt 

1  Payot :   La  Morale  a  I'Ecole,  p.  231. 
103 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

and  distrust.  Furthermore,  certain  textbooks 
suggest  opposition  to  Catholicism  more  di- 
rectly by  pointing  to  the  shortcomings  of  the 
Church  in  the  past.  Compayre  is  particularly 
skillful  at  this  sort  of  insinuation,  clothing  it 
in  a  thin  disguise  of  impartiality.  Paul  Bert, 
too,  tells  how  the  Catholics  persecuted  Non- 
conformists, showing  a  woodcut  to  illustrate 
the  dragonnades  in  the  Cevennes,  Protestants 
hanging  by  the  neck,  while  a  sleek  priest  stands 
comfortably  by.^  It  is  not  hard  to  understand 
why,  when  the  manuals  of  Compayre  and  Bert 
first  appeared,  about  1882,  the  voices  of  Cath- 
olics were  raised  in  furious  protest.^  A  more 
recent  text  of  moral  and  civic  instruction  by 
Professor  Aulard  and  a  colleague  shows  an  even 
stronger  anti-Catholic  bias.  ^^The  morality 
taught  in  this  manual,"  admit  the  authors,  ^4s 
laical  and  positive,  that  is  to  say,  independent 
of  any  religious  confession  and  of  any  meta- 
physical system  regarding  the  unknowable. ' '  ^ 
They  teach  specifically  that  it  cannot  be  proved 

^  Bert :    L'lnstruetion  Civique,  p.  136. 

^Buisson:  La  Lutte  Scolaire  (chapter  by  Dessaye),  pp. 
268  ft. 

^  Aulard  et  Bayet :  Morale  et  Instruction  Civique,  Aver- 
tissement. 

104 


TEACHING  OP  LOYALTY 

scientifically  that  God  exists.^  They  call  atten- 
tion to  the  persecutions  and  intolerance  of  the 
Church  in  the  past,^  while  by  means  of  a  '^Dia- 
logue between  a  Jesuit  Father  and  a  Virtu- 
ous Man'^  they  score  the  Jesuit  order  for  its 
' '  doctrine  of  equivocation. ' '  ^    The  popularity 

1  Part  I,  p.  150. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  156,  157,  161,  164. 

3  Ibid.,  pp.  111-112. 

"Dialogue  between  a  Jesuit  Father  and  a  Virtuous  Man." 

"I  wish  now  to  speak  to  you,"  said  the  Jesuit,  "of  the 
easy  means  which  we  have  used  to  avoid  sins  in  conversa- 
tion. One  of  the  most  embarrassing  things  is  to  avoid 
lying,  especially  when  one  is  anxious  to  have  something 
false  believed.  In  such  case  our  doctrine  of  equivocation 
serves  admirably,  which  permits  the  use  of  ambiguous 
terms,  causing  them  to  be  understood  differently  from  what 
one  understands  them  oneself.  But  are  you  clear  as  to 
what  must  be  done  when  one  finds  no  equivocal  words'?" 

"No,  Father." 

"So  I  thought,"  he  said;  "that  is  not  very  well  known. 
It  is  the  doctrine  of  mental  reservations:  One  can  swear 
that  one  has  not  done  a  thing,  even  if  one  has  really  done 
it^  with  a  mental  reservation  that  one  has  not  done  it  on  a 
certain  day,  or  that  one  has  not  done  it  before  being  bom." 

"Why,  Father,  is  not  that  a  lie  and  even  perjuiy?" 

"No,"  said  the  Father,  "and  there  is  another  even  more 
certain  means  of  avoiding  falsehood.  And  that  is,  after 
having  said  aloud  *I  swear  I  have  not  done  that,'  to  add 
under  one's  breath  'today'.  You  can  easily  see  that  that  is 
telling  the  truth." 

"I  confess  it  is,"  said  I,  "but  perhaps  we  would  find  that 

105 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

of  this  book  is  indicated  by  its  wide  sale.^ 
Thus  have  the  over-zealous  writers  of  texts  ^ 
attempted  to  safeguard  the  goveriunent  against 
a  foe  once  powerful,  but  a  foe  whose  sharpest 
fangs  had  been  drawn  some  years  before  Pope 
Leo,  of  blessed  memory,  commanded  the  faith- 
ful of  France  to  accept  the  Kepublic.^  Yet 
there  is  little  probability  that  the  psychology 
of  patriotism  and  loyalty,  described  in  the  pres- 
ent work,  would  ever  have  developed  had  the 
school  remained  under  the  control  of  Mother 
Church. 

If  the   devotee    of   Republican   government 

telling  the  truth  under  one^s  breath  means  telling  a  lie  out 
loud!"     (Adapted  from  Pascal.) 

1  In  1902  the  sale  had  reached  63,000  copies. 

2  See  further  Aulard  et  Debidour :  Notions  d'Histoire 
Generale  et  d'Histoire  de  France,  pp.  135, 137-140,  155, 187; 
Villain,  Comtois  et  Loiret:  op.  cit.,  p.  195;  Belot:  La  Re- 
publique  Frangaise,  p.  47;  ibid.,  La  Vie  Civique,  pp.  52, 
53,  200;  Despois  et  Laberennes:  Lectures  Morales,  pp.  341- 
347.  Belot :  La  Vie  Ci\ique,  pp.  201-203,  comments  freely 
on  the  law  of  1905.  The  schoolmaster  in  a  dialogue  says : 
"The  separation  of  Church  and  State  is  a  liberal  measure, 
destined  to  complete  the  work  of  secularization  which  the  Re- 
public had  undertaken  and  to  assure  the  definite  triumph  of 
liberty  of  conscience."  To  which  the  pupil  replies:  "I  do 
not  see  why  there  are  people  hostile  to  a  law  as  generous 
and  as  liberal  as  that  of  the  9th  of  December,  1905." 

3  This  was  in  1893. 

106 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

fears  the  influence  of  monarchist  and  cleric,  he 
is  not  disposed  to  dismiss  lightly  the  restless 
discontent  of  the  workingman.  To  the  good 
bourgeois  of  France,  revolutionary  socialism 
must  appear,  not  as  a  distant  cloud  on  the  hori- 
zon, disquieting  but  little  a  people  basking  in 
the  sunshine  of  prosperity,  but  as  a  smoldering 
volcano,  which,  in  time  of  national  excitement, 
may  burst  into  eruption.  For  France  has  had 
two  fearful  lessons — the  awful  days  of  June  in 
1848  and  the  terrible  Commune  of  1871.  Each 
of  these  revolts  was  signalized  by  fratricidal 
fierceness,  bloody  street  fighting,  incendiary 
fires  and  dreadful  suffering.  Each  left  a  leg- 
acy of  hatred  between  bourgeoisie  and  prole- 
tariat. But  the  Commune  was  the  harder  to 
forgive;  for  it  came  on  the  heels  of  a  great 
national  disaster ;  it  was  another  sword,  thrust 
deep  into  the  wounded,  weeping  body  politic. 
Europe  looked  on  amazed;  and  angry  France 
crushed  the  outbreak  with  a  rigor  heightened 
by  hot  resentment. 

For  some  time  after  the  Commune  the  forces 
of  discontent  remained  quiescent.  Then  came 
a  new  development  of  socialism,  out  of  which 
grew  syndicalism.  Syndicalism,  dissatisfied 
with  the  older  traditions  of  socialism,  is  '^bent 

107 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

on  conferring  upon  trade  unions,  grouped  more 
or  less  closely  in  a  General  Confederation  of 
Labor,  the  powers  which  now  belong  to  the 
Eepublican  and  middle-class  state. ' '  ^  The  syn- 
dicalist leaders  have  lost  confidence  in  the  bal- 
lot ;  they  have  used  the  strike  effectively  to  at- 
tain immediate  results  from  employers,  while 
they  have  preached  preparation  for  open 
war,  at  some  later  day,  against  the  capitalistic 
classes  of  society.  They  have  taught  anti-mil- 
itarism, even  anti-patriotism,  and  have  frater- 
nized with  the  workingmen  of  other  countries. 
Today  these  men  are  fighting  their  German 
^* brothers"  in  the  trenches — the  Marseillaise 
has  had  its  victory  over  the  Internationale.  But 
not  long  before  the  great  war  broke  out  it  was 
feared  that  syndicalism  might  bring  a  dissolu- 
tion of  the  union,  the  mariage  de  raison,  be- 
tween the  laboring  class  and  the  republic.^ 

In  many  a  textbook  writer  the  Third  Eepub- 
lic  has  found  a  doughty  champion  to  defend 
her  against  the  danger  of  the  social  revolution. 
Compayre,  for  example,  in  the  manual  of  moral 
and  civic  instruction  to  which  reference  has 

^  Bourgeois,  in  Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  XII,  p. 
128. 
2  Ibid. 

108 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

been  made,  thus  attempts  to  prick  the  bubble 
of  the  laborer 's  discontent.  Georges,  the  youth- 
ful hero  of  the  book,  writes  to  his  former  in- 
structor his  impressions  of  a  workingmen's 
congress  which  he  has  been  attending  at  Mar- 
seilles. *^I  shall  not  conceal  from  you  that  I 
am  moved  by  the  liveliness  of  their  com- 
plaints. .  .  .  They  trace  the  most  desolate  pic- 
tures of  the  situation  of  the  laborer."  To  his 
fears  the  master  replies,  '^How  .  .  .  could  one 
hear  without  protest  this  new  appeal  to  the 
Kevolution?  How  tolerate  this  sophism  .  .  . 
that  there  can  be  no  social  progress  without 
violent  revolution?  Do  you  not  understand, 
Georges,  that  it  can  no  longer  be  a  question  of 
revolution,  since  the  citizens  enjoy  the  rights  of 
suffrage?''^  Certain  authors  teach  that  the 
June  Days  and  the  Commune  were  mistaken 
attempts  to  overthrow  the  existing  order,  even 
that  they  were  terrible  crimes.^    Other  writers, 

1  Elements,  etc.,  pp.  181-183. 

2Duruy,  V.:  Petite  Histoire  Generale,  pp.  247-248; 
Blanchet  et  Pinard :  Cours  Complet,  p.  579 ;  Blanchet :  His- 
toire de  France,  p.  246 ;  "Of  all  insurrections  of  which  his- 
toiy  has  preserved  the  raemorj^,"  says  Lavisse,  "the  wicked- 
est surely  was  that  of  March,  1871,  which  took  place  under 
the  very  eyes  of  a  conquering  enemy."  La  Nouvelle  Deux- 
ieme  Annee  d'Histoire  de  France,  p.  390. 

109 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

while  acknowledging  the  right  of  laborers  to 
strike,  nevertheless  caution  against  the  abuse 
of  that  right,  **for,  my  children,  if  strikes  are 
sometimes  useful,  often  also  they  have  been  dis- 
astrous and  have  degenerated  into  violence.''^ 
In  order  to  increase  the  loyalty  of  the  working 
classes  to  the  Republic,  attention  is  also  called 
to  the  benefits  which  it  has  conferred  on  them. 
**It  is  not  astonishing  that  workingmen  should 
be  attached  to  the  Republic;  it  is  the  Republic 
which  has  emancipated  them,  which  has  pro- 
claimed them  grown-up,  that  is  to  say,  free  from 
all  tutelage,  free  to  form  associations,  free  to 
defend  their  interests  as  all  previous  govern- 
ments had  held  them  in  defiance.'*^  *'Do  not 
blush  to  be  a  workman,"  says  Laloi,  **but  do 
not  despise  on  the  other  hand,  those  who  do 
not  work  with  their  hands,  nor  think  of  them 
as  parasites. ' '  ^ 

Sometimes  syndicalism  and  certain  doctrines 

^Fouillee:  Francinet,  p.  332;  Laloi:  La  Premiere  Annee 
d'Instruction  Morale  et  Civique,  p.  64;  Belot:  La  Vie  Ci- 
vique,  p.  234;  Gerard:  Morale,  p.  218. 

2  Petit  et  Lamy:  Jean  Lavenir,  p.  284;  Aulard  et  Debi- 
dour:  Notions  d'Histoire  Generale  et  d'Histoire  de  France, 
p.  405. 

*  La  Premiere  Annee  dTnstruction  Morale  et  Civique,  p. 
64. 

110 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

of  socialism  are  rather  severely  criticized. 
True,  there  is  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  a 
number  of  writers  to  regard  cooperative  so- 
cieties with  favor  and  to  impress  children  with 
the  advantage  of  these  for  the  working  classes.^ 
^'Cooperation,''  says  Belot,  ''is  born  of  sym- 
pathy, of  sociability,  as  much  as  of  self-inter- 
est ;  it  can  contribute  powerfully  to  the  strength- 
ening and  fostering  of  morality. "  ^  On  the  other 
hand,  the  same  man  says  of  the  syndicates  that 
"they  ought  not  to  inject  themselves  into  po- 
litical or  religious  struggles,  nor  should  they 
transform  themselves  into  instruments  of  des- 
potism or  tyranny.  .  .  .  Syndicalism  creates  no 
monopoly.  Nevertheless  there  exists  a  doctrine 
which  would  extend  the  decisions  of  syndicates 
to  all  the  workmen  of  the  same  industry. ' '  ^ 
The  old  idea  of  the  equal  distribution  of  goods 
is  refuted  by  the  ancient  argument  that  such 
distribution  could  not  be  lasting  because  of  the 
inequalities  of  human  character.^     "Property 

^  Compayre :  Elements,  p.  186 ;  Fouillee :  Francinet,  pp. 
327-332;  Petit  et  Lamy:  Jean  Lavenir,  pp.  286,  353-357; 
Belot:  La  Vie  Civique,  pp.  219-279;  Ganneron:  Tu  Seras 
Citoyen,  pp.  193-194. 

2  La  Vie  Civique,  p.  279. 

3  Le  Peuple,  p.  39. 

*  Gerard:   Morale,  p.  122;  Compayre:  Elements,  p.  185. 
Ill 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

should  be  inviolable  and  sacred  like  the  work  of 
which  it  is  the  product. ' '  ^  Pontsevrez  opposes 
the  communism  of  Plato.  *^This  total  sacri- 
fice of  the  individual  to  the  ideal  state  is  con- 
trary to  nature.''  He  holds  that  Saint-Simon- 
ism  is  also  a  step  backward  because  it  sup- 
presses individual  liberty,  and  reasons  that  to 
do  away  with  the  right  of  inheritance  would  be 
to  destroy  an  important  incentive  to  work.  **It 
would  be  an  injustice  to  those  who  by  their 
work  have  acquired  property  and  by  their  wis- 
dom have  economized  for  the  sake  of  their  chil- 
dren. Society  would  not  be  the  gainer ;  for  not 
being  sure  of  handing  down  his  goods,  the  in- 
dividual would  work  less,  would  produce  less. ' '  ^ 
Compayre  sums  up  the  arguments  against  so- 
cialism to  his  own  satisfaction  and  presumably 
to  that  of  his  juvenile  public  by  stating  that 
^Hhose  who  protest  against  capital  have  only 
one  purpose — to  acquire  capital  themselves. ' '  * 
The  essence  of  Pontsevrez 's  view  is  that   ^^of 

Compayre  adds  that  such  distribution  "etant  la  violation 
du  droit  de  ceux  qui  possedent  deja  elle  est  la  negation  de 
toute  justice."  Rather  a  naive  argument  for  a  disciple  of 
the  Revolution  of  1789 ! 

1  Gerard :  Morale,  p.  122. 

2  Cours  de  Morale  Pratique,  pp.  97-99. 
^Elements,  p.  185. 

112 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

the  ideas  of  the  philosopher  the  crowd  has  re- 
tained only  that  which  flatters  its  passions/'  ^ 

Thus  it  is  clear  that  socialism  has  been  com- 
bated in  the  schools  of  France,  though  it  has 
not  been  shown  that  such  teaching  is  uniform 
and  systematic.  The  effect  of  all  these  com- 
ments on  the  problem  of  capital  and  labor  has 
been,  however,  to  warn  a  large  proportion  of 
the  rising  generations  of  France  against  the 
use  of  violence  as  a  means  for  reforming  the 
existing  order.  These  teachings,  then,  have 
made  for  the  stability  of  the  Third  Republic. 

Not  only  by  pedagogic  warnings  against  the 
perils  lurking  in  the  shadows  of  the  national 
life,  however,  but  also  by  a  more  direct  incul- 
cation of  loyalty  to  the  Revolution  and  the  Re- 
public has  the  present  form  of  government  been 
strengthened.  From  one  point  of  view  the  Third 
Republic  is  simply  the  logical  sequence  of  the 
French  Revolution,  the  effective  instrument  for 
putting  into  practice  the  principles  of  1789. 
Hence  opposition  to  the  Revolution  implies  op- 
position to  the  Republic;  acceptance  of  it  im- 
plies allegiance  to  the  regime  now  in  force. 
*'The  Revolution  has  put  an  end  to  all  the 
iniquities  of  which  I  have  given  you  a  sum- 

1  Op.  cit.,  p.  98. 

113 


PATKIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

mary  view/'  says  Boniface,  ^^ since  the  Eepub- 
lic  has  completed  the  work  of  the  Revolution, 
by  replacing  the  royal  authority  with  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  people. ' '  ^ 

What  the  Revolution  has  accomplished  for 
France  the  same  author  thus  recites : 

^^The  year  1789  appears  to  you  very  far  off, 
my  children.  It  is  a  memorable  date  which  you 
ought  to  have  always  before  your  eyes  and  at 
the  bottom  of  your  hearts,  to  glorify  it,  and  to 
honor  the  memory  of  those  to  whom  we  owe  the 
Revolution. 

^'It  is  the  Revolution  which  has  suppressed 
the  unjust  privileges  reserved  to  the  nobility 
and  to  the  clergy ;  which  has  abolished  the  royal 
onmipotence,  established  Justice  and  Liberty 
for  all,  equality  among  all  Frenchmen,  who, 
from  being  subjects,  submissive  to  the  royal 
authority,  were  made  citizens,  members  of  a 
free  State. 

^*It  is  the  Revolution  which  has  given  birth 
to  the  great  idea  of  La  Patrie. 

**To  the  deputies  of  the  States-General  who 

made  the  Revolution  of  1789  is  due  our  grati- 
tude.'^^ 

^  Pour  le  Commencement  de  la  Classe,  p.  39. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  38. 

114 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

So  other  writers  tell  of  the  benefits  wrought 
by  the  Eevolution,  taking  particular  pains  to 
explain  the  meaning  of  ^'Liberty,  Equality,  and 
Fraternity. ' '  ^  The  ^ '  Declaration  of  the  Rights 
of  Man  and  of  the  Citizen, ' '  that  essence  of  the 
spirit  of  the  Revolution,  that  program  of  nine- 
teenth-century political  reform,  is  frequently 
quoted  in  full  in  the  textbooks,  to  show  the 
deep  and  true  significance  of  the  movement  of 
1789.2  *^The  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man 
and  of  the  Citizen,''  says  Belot,  ^4s  only  pa- 
triotism in  maxims,  and  the  principles  of  1789 
have  fortified  patriotism."  ^  In  1901  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies  passed  a  law  by  five  hun- 
dred and  forty-one  votes  to  one  that  the  Decla- 
ration should  be  posted  in  all  the  schools  of 

1  Gerard:  Morale,  pp.  303-308;  Mabilleau:  Cours  d'ln- 
struetion  Civique,  pp.  25-32 ;  Villain,  Comtois  et  Loiret :  La 
Lecture,  p.  375;  Bert:  L'Instruction  Civique,  pp.  111-132; 
Lemoine  et  Loiret,  op.  cit.,  p.  27;  Compayre :  Elements,  pas- 
sim; Aulard  et  Debidour:  Notions  d'Histoire  Generale  et 
d'Histoire  de  France,  passim;  etc. 

^Pavette:  La  Vie  Civique,  pp.  7-10;  Belot:  La  Vie 
Civique,  pp.  5-77 ;  Despois  et  Laberennes :  op.  cit.,  pp.  396- 
398 ;  Mabilleau,  Levasseur  et  Delacourtie :  Cours  d'lnstrue- 
tion  Civique,  pp.  16-24;  Manuel:  Livre  Nouveau,  pp.  47- 
50;  Aulard  et  Debidour:  Notions  d'Histoire  Generale,  etc., 
front  and  rear  covers.  Jost  et  Braeunig:  Lectures  Pra- 
tiques, pp.  253-254;  etc. 

3  La  Vie  Civique,  p.  74. 

115 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

France.^  Sometimes  writers  depict  vividly  the 
miseries  of  the  Ancient  Regime,  contrasting 
these  with  the  political  happiness  which  France 
has  enjoyed  through  the  Revolution.-  Indeed, 
Paul  Bert  goes  so  far  as  to  say,  ^^  All  that  I  have 
taught  you  up  to  this  point,  all  that  I  have  led 
you  to  love,  to  admire,  'tis  the  Revolution  that 
has  wrought  it. ' '  ^ 

Though  almost  inseparably  interwoven  with 
attachment  to  the  Revolution,  love  for  the  Third 
Republic  itself  is  even  more  fundamentally  es- 
sential. Such  love  is  not  necessarily  the  same, 
however,  as  devotion  to  La  Patrie.  Even  a 
royalist  might  be  a  good  patriot,  ready  to  die 
in  his  country's  cause,  though  unalterably  op- 
posed to  the  present  form  of  government. 
Hence  the  precept,  ^^Aimez  la  France/'  must  be 
supplanted  by  the  injunction,  *'Love  the  re- 
publican institutions  which  France  has  given 
herself."  *  As  the  benefits  wrought  for  the  peo- 

^Rouvier:  L'Enseignement  Public  en  France  au  Debut 
du  XX«  Siecle,  p.  34. 

2rouillee:  Francinet,  pp.  221-223;  Bert:  L'Instruction 
Civique,  pp.  131-165.  Historians  tend  to  stress  this  con- 
trast. 

2  L'Instruction  Civique,  p.  135. 

*  Laloi :  La  Premiere  Annee  d'Instruction  Morale  et 
Civique  (43d  edition,  1900),  p.  161. 

116 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

pie  by  tlie  Eevolution  are  recited,  so  also  are 
those  which  are  due  to  the  Eepublic.^  Thus 
Belot  says: 

*  ^  The  Eepublic,  government  of  the  people,  by 
the  people,  is  a  superior  form  of  social  organi- 
zation. Much  more  than  monarchy,  the  Repub- 
lic assures  liberty  and  equality,  it  guarantees 
men  more  justice  and  permits  them  more 
fraternity;  it  opens  the  way  more  surely 
to  all  beneficent  reforms  and  to  all  prog- 
ress. .  .  . 

* '  The  Third  Republic  must  be  the  final  French 
Republic.  All  citizens  worthy  the  name  must 
repel  all  thought  of  accepting  anew  a  king,  an 
emperor  or  a  dictator.  .  .  . 

**The  Republic  has  repaired  the  disasters  of 
war;  it  has  rebuilt  the  army  and  navy;  it  has 
restored  the  national  credit;  it  has  placed  our 
frontiers  in  a  state  of  defense;  it  has  created 
and  progressively  fostered  an  immense  colonial 
domain ;  it  has  arranged  for  the  country  power- 
ful alliances  and  solid  friendships,  and  has  in- 
creased   her    prestige;    it    has    attempted    to 

^  Auge  et  Petit :  Histoire  de  France,  de  Louis  XI  a  nos 
Jours.  Cours  Moyen,  pp.  190-191;  Belot:  La  Republique 
Frangaise,  p.  3;  Boniface:  Pour  le  Commencement  de  la 
Classe,  p.  39. 

117 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

lessen  the  sufferings  of  the  peasant,  to  labor  for 
industrial  and  commercial  development;  it  has 
enlivened  and  extended  considerably  the  work 
of  education;  it  has  given  an  impulse  hitherto 
unknown  to  the  labors  of  foresightedness  and 
of  fraternity. ' '  ^ 

Compayre  represents  his  hero,  Georges,  as 
going  from  a  rural  district  to  Paris,  where 
the  citizens  inquire  what  the  feeling  in  his 
part  of  the  country  is  toward  the  Eepub- 
lie: 

'^Do  your  compatriots  begin  to  understand 
the  benefits  of  the  Eepublic?  Do  they  know 
that  it  is  the  best  form  of  government!  That 
imperial  and  royal  monarchies  have  finished 
their  terms  of  existence  in  France?'' 

Georges  soothes  their  fears  by  guaranteeing 
that  his  fellow-inhabitants  are  growing  more 
and  more  devoted  to  the  Republic.^ 

Thus  through  suggestion  or  direct  precept 
pupils  have  been  led  to  see  the  reasonableness 
of  the  regime  under  which  they  live  and  have 
been  taught  attachment  to  it.  The  supreme 
duty  of  such  devotion  is  expressed  by  one 
writer  in  the  words  of  Montesquieu: 

1  La  Vie  Civique,  pp.  78-79. 

2  Elements,  p.  169. 

118 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

**  Virtue  in  a  Republic  is  a  very  simple  thing; 
it  is  love  of  the  Republic. ' '  ^ 

The  official  programs  give  to  the  teaching  of 
loyalty  to  the  Revolution  and  the  Republic  a 
more  systematic  and  more  general  character 
than  it  would  otherwise  have.  It  is  provided, 
for  example,  that  in  the  first  year  of  the  ele- 
mentary primary  schools,  civic  instruction  shall 
consist  of  *^very  simple  explanations,  in  con- 
nection with  reading,  of  words  calculated  to 
awaken  an  idea  of  nationality,  such  as :  citizen, 
soldier,  army,  fatherland,  commune,  canton, 
department,  nation,  law,  justice,  public  force, 
etc.''^  In  the  third  year  are  to  be  taken  up, 
among  other  things, ' '  The  national  sovereignty ; 
explanation  of  the  republican  device:  Liberty, 
Equality,  Fraternity. ' '  ^  According  to  the  study 
plans  of  the  higher  primary  schools  for  1909 
and  of  the  primary  normal  schools  for  1910,  the 
teaching  of  morality  is  to  include:  ^^The  re- 
publican form  of  government ;  its  principle  and 

^  "La  vertu,  dans  une  republique,  est  une  chose  tres  sim- 
ple; c'est  I'amour  de  la  republique;  c'est  un  sentiment  et 
non  une  suite  de  connaissances."  Despois  et  Laberennes,  pp. 
376-377. 

2  Organisation  Ped^agogique  .  .  .  des  Ecoles  Primaires 
Elementaires,  1887-1909,  p.  24. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  47. 

119 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

its  superiority.  Issued  by  our  consent  and  mod- 
ified by  our  will,  there  can  be  nothing  arbi- 
trary about  it."^  Thus  through  these  and 
other  official  orders  ^  the  state  has  endeavored 
to  train  the  youth  of  France  to  look  upon  the 
Republic  as  the  natural  and  best  form  of  gov- 
ernment. 

From  the  textbooks  examined,  then,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  public  school,  captured  from  the 
Church  after  many  a  bitter  battle,  has  lent  itself 
to  the  protection  of  the  order  existent  in  France 
since  1870.  Through  the  influence  of  the  printed 
page,  not  without  its  power  over  older  minds, 
but  authoritatively  eifective  with  the  ignorant 
and  immature,  the  children  of  France  have 
learned  the  danger  of  intrusting  the  political 
fortunes  of  the  country  to  a  Caesar,  whether  he 
claims  the  throne  by  divine  right  and  the  sanc- 
tion of  history  or  tempts  by  illusory  promises 

^  Plan  d'Etudes  .  .  .  des  Ecoles  Primaires  Superieiires  de 
Gargons,  1909,  p.  48;  Plan  d'Etudes  .  .  .  des  Ecoles  Pri- 
maires Normales,  1910,  p.  6. 

2  See  passim  in  the  foregoing  programs ;  also  Plan 
d'Etudes  et  Programmes  d'Enseignement  des  Ecoles  Nor- 
males Primaires,  1889,  p.  8;  Plan  d'Etudes  .  .  .  de  VEn- 
seignement  Secondaire  Special  dans  les  Lycees  et  Colleges, 
Prescrit  par  Arrete  du  10  aout,  1886 ;  Plan  d'Etudes  .  .  .  de 
VEnseignement  Secondaire  de  Gargons,  1902,  passim. 

'       120 


TEACHING  OF  LOYALTY 

and  hopes  of  national  glory.  Theoretically 
taught  to  be  tolerant  toward  all  forms  of  relig- 
ion, these  same  children  have,  not  infrequently, 
been  influenced  against  Catholicism,  whose 
power  has  constituted,  in  the  eyes  of  many 
fearful  Republicans,  a  danger  to  the  state  and 
to  the  institutions  for  which  the  state  has  stood 
since  1870.  Sometimes,  too,  they  have  been 
warned  against  thoughts  of  social  revolution, 
oven  against  certain  socialistic  doctrines.  They 
have  been  led,  also,  to  look  upon  the  Revolution 
of  1789  as  a  liberation  of  the  French  people 
from  the  shackles  of  feudalism  and  monarchy. 
They  have  been  told  that  the  Third  Republic  is 
continuing  the  glorious  work  of  that  Revolu- 
tion, and  has  already  wrought  many  benefits  for 
those  living  under  its  enlightened  rule.  Little 
wonder  that  a  critic  of  the  existing  regime  has 
said  that  the  Republic  should  place  over  the 
doors  of  every  lay  school  the  motto,  ^^ Super 
hanc  petram  cedificabo  meam  ecclesiam^'  (Upon 
this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church),  Matthew 
16, 18. 

In  times  of  peace  and  comfort  it  may  seem 
as  if  the  state  needed  no  such  psychological  de- 
fenses as  those  I  have  described.  It  may  seem 
as  if  the  opposition  of  the  disaffected  were  but 

121 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

the  froth  and  foam  on  the  surface  of  the  deep^ 
untroubled  waters  of  contentment.  But  in  the 
day  of  crisis  the  case  is  different.  The  history 
of  the  nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries  has 
shown  that  in  time  of  national  stress  and  strain, 
and  especially  in  time  of  war,  the  machinations 
of  malcontents  may  shake  the  government  of 
the  modern  state  to  its  very  foundations.  In 
such  periods  the  country  has  need  of  all  the 
loyalty,  all  the  patriotism  of  her  citizens.  "Well 
for  her,  indeed,  if  she  has  patiently  built  up 
this  loyalty  and  patriotism  in  her  years  of 
tranquil  prosperity ! 


CHAPTER   V 

CONTENDING    FORCES    IN    FRENCH    EDUCATION 
I.     PATRIOTIC  VERSUS  SCIENTIFIC  HISTORY 

*'The  true  school  of  patriotism,''  says  Com- 
payre,  *'is  history,  national  history.''^  The 
tendency  of  the  historian  is  to  reflect  the  spirit 
of  his  age,  and  it  is  the  spirit  of  the  nineteenth 
century  that  Compayre  thus  voices.  In  the 
Middle  Ages  the  task  of  the  chronicler  was  to 
glorify  the  work  of  God,  as  exemplified  in  the 
Eoman  Catholic  Church.  His  successor  of 
Reformation  and  post-Reformation  times  used 
history  to  buttress  the  particular  sect  or  creed 
to  which  he  happened  to  have  given  his  alle- 
giance. Still  later  party  politics  dominated  a 
goodly  proportion  of  historical  writing.  In  the 
nineteenth  century,  however,  the  primary  po- 
litical principle  has  been  that  of  nationality. 

^  Elements  d'Instmction  Morale  et  Civique,  p.  60.  See 
also  Pecaut:  L'Education  Publique  et  la  Vie  Nationale, 
p.  128;  Lavisse:  UHistoire  a  VEcole,  Revue  PedagogiquB; 
Vol.  45,  pp.  211  £c. 

123 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

Therefore  many  nineteentli-century  historians 
have  been  intensely  patriotic.  But  devotion  to 
scientific  scholarship  has  also  been  a  prominent 
characteristic  of  modern  civilization.  So 
through  the  conflict  between  these  two  ideas 
there  has  come  about  a  struggle  in  the  French 
schools  between  scientific  and  *^ patriotic" 
history. 

The  modern  belief  in  the  principle  of  na- 
tionality originated  in  the  Revolutionary  and 
Napoleonic  era.  In  the  dark  days  of  1793,  when 
France  felt  herself  forced  ^'to  establish  the 
despotism  of  liberty  in  order  to  crush  the 
despotism  of  kings,''  a  fervor  of  patriotism 
swept  over  the  country,  and  the  disciples  of 
*' Liberty,  Equality,  and  Fraternity''  went  forth 
to  conquest.  Militant  missionaries,  they  aimed 
to  spread  by  force  of  arms  the  new  gospel  of 
the  Revolution.  Then  later,  when  these  hosts 
had  become  the  pliant  instrument  of  Napoleonic 
ambition,  when  desire  for  glory  had  supplanted 
the  early  enthusiasm  for  liberty,  the  national 
feeling  awoke  in  other  countries,  in  reaction 
against  the  threatened  despotism  of  the  con- 
queror. From  that  time  the  spirit  of  intense 
patriotism,  born  in  the  pangs  of  national  crisis, 
became  a  fundamental  article  of  Europe's  po- 

124 


FORCES  IN  FRENCH  EDUCATION 

litical  faith.  To  this  faith  many  historians  of 
every  civilized  country  have  subscribed,  foster- 
ing and  developing  it  through  their  art,  so  pe- 
culiarly adaptable  to  this  task. 

After  the  Franco-German  War  the  study  of 
history  naturally  became  a  most  effective  in- 
strument of  the  educational  renaissance.  For 
some  twenty  years  after  the  defeat  of  France 
history  in  the  schools  ministered  faithfully  and 
continuously  to  patriotism.^  Not  that  the  au- 
thors of  textbooks  forgot  entirely  the  spirit  of 
impartiality.  A  number  of  them  apparently 
made  little  attempt  to  point  a  patriotic  moral. 
They  allowed  the  narrative,  for  the  most  part, 
to  speak  for  itself.  Nevertheless  they  aroused 
a  fighting  devotion  to  the  Fatherland  through 
their  emphasis  on  military  events. 

This  spirit  of  impartiality  is  well  illustrated 
in  a  popular  historical  text  of  MM.  Blanchet 
and  Pinard  (edition  of  1888 ).2  There  is  but  a 
small  amount  of  polemics  or  apologetics  in  this 
book.  Take,  for  example,  their  attitude  toward 
the  monarchical  principle,  which,  as  citizens  of 

^  Duruy :     Eeole  et  Patrie,  p.  15. 

2  Cours  Complet  d'Histoire  de  France,  a  I'Usage  des 
Ecoles  Primaires  Superieures.  (Adopted  for  the  schools  of 
Paris.) 

125 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

a  republic,  they  might  well  have  been  expected 
to  condemn  unreservedly.  They  do,  indeed, 
severely  criticize  Napoleon  I,  though  acknowl- 
edging his  great  military  qualities.  On  the 
other  hand  they  praise  Louis  Philippe  and  have 
scarcely  an  unfavorable  word  for  Napoleon  III. 
Furthermore  there  is  in  the  book  no  hint  of 
revanche,  A  similar  impartiality  characterizes 
the  texts  of  Victor  Duruy,^  Brouard,^  Ducou- 
dray,^  and  other  authors.  In  such  schoolbooks 
history  is  not  wholly  subordinated  to  national- 
ism or  the  desire  to  safeguard  the  state.  But 
they  may  be  classed  as  patriotic  histories  since 
they  stimulate  courage  and  devotion  through 
their  emphasis  on  battles  and  campaigns. 

In  the  works  of  certain  other  writers  of  his- 
torical texts,  however,  the  patriotic  purpose  is 
clearly  revealed.  Thus  M.  Burle,  the  author  of 
a  popular  little  historical  text,  takes  occasion 
to  glorify  the  Revolution,^  to  suggest  revanche ^^ 

^Duruy,  V.:    Petite  Histoire  de  France. 

2  Brouard :  Lemons  d'Histoire  de  France  et  d'Histoire 
Generale,  a  I'Usage  des  Ecoles  Primaires.  Cours  supe- 
rieur.    Livre  du  Maitre. 

^  Ducoudray :  Recits  et  Biographies  d'Histoire  de  France. 
Cours  preparatoire. 

*  L'Histoire  Nationale,  Racontee  aux  Enf ants,  etc.,  p.  48. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  59. 

126 


FORCES  IN  FRENCH  EDUCATION 

to  condemn  the  empire  of  Napoleon  III,^ 
and  to  praise  the  Third  Republic.^  He  even 
goes  so  far  as  to  maintain  that  the  Triple  Al- 
liance (Germany,  Austria,  Italy)  was  directed 
against  France,^  while  the  Entente  Cordiale 
between  England  and  France  he  holds  to  be  the 
most  serious  guaranty  of  the  maintenance  of 
peace  in  the  world.*  ^^Love  the  Fatherland, 
and  labor  for  it,''  is  the  moral  that  he  draws 
from  the  narrative  of  his  country's  past.^ 

In  similar  fashion  lessons  of  patriotism  have 
been  taught  in  other  school  histories  such  as 
those  of  Auge  and  Petit,^  Zevort,*^  and  Foncin.^ 
Two  textbook  writers,  however,  stand  out 
above  their  fellow-craftsmen  as  exponents  of 
the  pragmatic  conception  of  history.  Diver- 
gent as  are  their  points  of  view  in  many  re- 
spects, the  celebrated  scholars  Lavisse  and  Au- 
lard  are  at  one  in  believing  that  the  study  of 


1  Ibid.,  p.  65. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  65. 


3  Ibid.,  p.  65. 

*Ibid.,  p.  68. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  71. 

*  Auge  et  Petit :  Histoire  de  France,  Cours  elementaire ; 
ibid.,  Cours  moyen. 

^  Zevort :  L'Histoire  Nationale  Racontee  aux  Adolescents. 

^Foncin:  Textes  et  Recits  d'Histoire  de  France  (Pre- 
miere annee). 

127 


T 


L 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

history  should  foster  loyalty  and  patriotism. 
They  do  not,  however,  emphasize  the  same  les- 
sons. Lavisse  is  concerned  primarily  with  the 
military  defense  and  the  military  prestige  of 
France.  From  the  defeats  of  1870  he  draws  the 
conclusion  that  Frenchmen  must  render  strong 
their  country,^  that  all  economy  in  regard  to 
the  army  costs  dear.^  He  does  not  hesitate  to 
assert  that  the  first  duty  of  France  is  not  to 
forget  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  who  do  not  forget 
her.^  He  further  maintains — as  has  already 
been  pointed  out  in  another  connection — that 
the  Germans  hate  France,  that  they  are  cease- 
lessly manufacturing  guns  and  cannon,  that 
they  have  long  been  preparing  for  war  against 
their  neighbor.^  Thus  liis  widely  used  histori- 
cal texts  have  warned  of  the  coming  war,  have 
shown  the  necessity  of  preparedness. 

Aulard,  on  the  other  hand,  sounds  a  different 
note.  It  may  seem  strange  to  class  this  much- 
criticized  scholar  among  the  essentially  patri- 
otic historians.    In  1903  he  was  denounced  by  a 

^  Livret  d'Histoire  de  France.    Opuscule  du  Maitre,  p.  42. 

2  La  Nouvelle  Deuxieme  Annee  d'Histoire  de  France,  p. 
404. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  406. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  404-405. 

128 


FOECES  IN  FRENCH  EDUCATION 

member  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  for  having 
written  an  anti-patriotic  manual  of  moral  and 
civic  instruction,  the  deputy  reproaching  him — 
according  to  Aulard's  own  account — with  hav- 
ing discredited  the  military  service  by  saying 
that  it  was  ' '  an  obligation  very  heavy  and  very 
painful. '  *  ^  But  he  is  devotedly  loyal  to  the 
Third  Eepublic  and  uses  history  to  strengthen 
allegiance  to  its  institutions  and  its  principles. 
In  a  little  historical  text,  written  with  the  aid 
of  a  colleague,^  he  puts  before  his  youthful  pub- 
lic the  benefits  of  that  Revolution  to  whose 
study  he  has  devoted  so  many  years  and  of 
which  he  is  so  ardent  a  disciple.  Nationalism, 
too,  he  attacks  as  a  reincarnation  of  Boulan- 
gism.^  Furthermore,  his  interpretation  of  his- 
tory appears  to  enable  him  to  bring  many  an 
indictment  against  the  Catholic  Church,*  whose 
services  to  society  seem  to  him  by  no  means  to 
offset  her  intolerance  toward  her  enemies.  In 
his  criticism  of  the  Church  he  even  goes  so  far 
as  to  say  that  the  Pope's  protest  against  the 
visit  of  the  President  of  France  at  the  Court 


^  Aulard :     Polemique  et  Histoire,  p.  14. 
-  Aulard  et  Debidour :     Notions  d'Histoire  Generale  et 
d'Histoire  de  France. 
3  Ibid.,  p.  382. 

*Ibid.,  pp.  135,  138,  139-140,  155. 
129 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

of  Victor  Enunanuel  in  1904  lias  rendered  pop- 
ular among  the  French  people  the  idea  of  a  sep- 
aration of  Church  and  State.^  In  general,  while 
Lavisse  points  his  prophetic  finger  toward  a 
foreign  foe,  Aulard  attempts  to  guard  against 
influences  which  he  believes  to  be  dangerous  to 
the  internal  welfare  of  the  state.  They  are  in 
^agreement,  however,  in  warning  the  children 
bf  France  against  the  danger  of  intrusting  the 
destinies  of  the  nation  to  a  dictator.^  Further- 
more, though  Aulard  is  pacific  in  tone,  he  be- 
lieves, with  Lavisse,  in  a  defensive  patriotism, 
ready  to  resist  to  the  death  any  attempted  in- 
vasion of  the  Fatherland.^ 

For  some  twenty  years  after  the  disasters  of 
1870,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  patriotic  history 
held  the  field  without  dangerous  rivalry.^  Nor 
did  its  influence  cease  at  the  end  of  that  period; 
the  lessons  of  devotion  to  the  Fatherland  con- 
tinued all  along  to  be  taught  through  many  of 
the  historical  texts  used  in  the  schools.  But 
'toward  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 

1  Ibid.,  p.  135. 

2 Ibid.,  pp.  279,  281,  336-337,  382  et  passim;  Lavisse: 
Livret  d'Histoire,  pp.  38-39;  Ibid.,  La  Nouvelle  Deuxieme 
Annee  d'Histoire  de  France,  pp.  370,  404;  etc. 

*  Aulard :   Polemique  et  Histoire,  p.  136. 

*Duruy:   Ecole  et  Patrie,  p.  15. 
130 


FORCES  IN  FRENCH  EDUCATION 

f 
cold  breath  of  scientific  scholarship  began  to- 
chill  the  warm  glow  of  patriotic  history.  A\ 
new  school  of  writers,  who  knew  not  Sedan, 
raised  the  demand  that  history  should  serve 
truth,  and  truth  alone,  and  that  the  develop- 
ment of  civilization  should  be  emphasized  at  the 
expense  of  '  4  'histoire-bataille. ' '  But  while  this 
theory  of  the  subject  was  discussed  by  educa- 
tors from  about  1890  on,  it  was  not  until  1902 
that  it  seriously  affected  the  official  study-plans 
of  the  schools.^  The  program  for  secondary 
instruction  appearing  in  the  latter  year  greatly 
restricted  the  attention  to  be  given  to  battles 
and  wars. 2  The  amount  of  diplomatic  history 
was  also  to  be  reduced,  while  that  of  customs, 
ideas,  social  usages  and  political  institutions 
was  to  be  increased.  A  preponderant  position, 
also,  was  given  to  modem  times  and  to  the 
study   of   contemporary    society.^     A    similar 

^  Johnson :   Teaching  of  History,  p.  126. 

^  Plan  d'Etudes  et  Programmes  d'Enseignement  dans  les 
Lycees  et  Colleges  de  Gargons,  1902,  p.  81.  "On  n'insistera 
pas  sur  le  recit  des  luttes  de  la  Revolution  et  de  I'Empire. 
Dans  les  guerres  prineipales  le  professeur  choisira  nn  ou 
deux  exemples  de  batailles."  See  also  pp.  42,  QQ,  106,  107, 
etc. 

^  Seignobos,  Langlois,  etc. :  L'Enseignement  de  I'His- 
toire,  p.  60;  Smith,  H.  F. :  History  in  the  French  Lycee, 
p.  17. 

131 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  IMAKING 

spirit  animated  the  programs  of  the  higher 
primary  and  the  primary  normal  schools,  pub- 
lished a  few  years  later.^  According  to  the  lat- 
ter the  purpose  of  the  study  of  history  is  ^Ho 
awaken  the  scientific  spirit. "  ^  In  general  the 
programs  marked  a  victory  of  the  scientific, 
evolutionary  conception  of  history  over  the 
military,  patriotic  conception. 

Probably  the  best  series  of  texts  written  to 
conform  with  the  new  study-plan  was  that  of 
Seignobos.^  Customs  and  characteristics  he 
has  stressed,  but  has  given  comparatively  little 
attention  to  battles  and  wars.  Thus  in  one  of 
his  books  he  has  devoted  twenty  pages  to  early 
life  and  society  in  Rome,  while  allowing  but  five 
for  the  Peloponnesian  war.*  So,  too,  MM.  Jal- 
lifier  et  Vast,  authors  of  another  set  of  histori- 
cal textbooks,  state  that  they  have  sought  **to 
^x  the  attention  of  pupils  on  customs  and  in- 

^  Plan  d'Etudes  .  .  .  des  J^coles  Superieures  de  Gargons, 
1909,  p.  15;  Plan  d'Etudes  .  .  .  des  Ecoles  Normales  Pri- 
maires,  p.  68. 

2  Ibid.,  "Eveiller  I'esprit  scientifique,  qui  consiste,  dans 
Fetude  de  I'histoire,  a  observer  et  a  rapproeher  des  faits, 
a  se  defier  des  impressions  persounelles  comme  des  deduc- 
tions logiques,  a  eviter  Fesprit  de  systeme  et  les  hypotheses 
hasardeuses." 

3  See  Smith,  H.  F. :   History  in  the  French  Lycee,  p.  28. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  30. 

132 


FORCES  IN  FRENCH  EDUCATION 

stitutions,  to  substitute  the  history  of  civiliza- 
tion for  history  exclusively  political.^  Such 
treatment  of  the  life  of  the  past  is  altogether 
too  cold  for  the  volatile  Abbe  Dimnet,  who 
holds  that  historical  writers  of  this  type  were 
*  ^  so  Germanized  in  their  thoughts  and  teaching 
that  it  was  difficult  for  their  hearers  to  get  at 
what  might  be  left  of  sentiment  under  their 
scientific  principles. ' '  ^  That  this  method  of 
teaching  history  might  become  a  national  men- 
ace is  the  view  of  Professor  Duruy,  who  dis- 
gustedly exclaims,  ^'It  is  not  by  celebrating  the 
benefits  of  the  introduction  of  the  potato  or 
the  invention  of  the  weaving  loom — pacificist 
themes  of  the  first  water — it  is  not  by  proclaim- 
ing Parmentier  and  Jacquard  national  heroes 
and  benefactors  of  their  country,  more  real  than 
Louis  XIV  and  Napoleon,  that  one  imparts  to 
souls  the  *  spirit'  which  helps  in  the  fulfillment 
of  certain  difficult  duties,  like  that  of  which,  not 
without  some  profit  for  France,  the  fellow-sol- 
diers of  Villars  acquitted  themselves  at  Denain, 
those  of  Dumouriez  at  Valmy."^ 

^  Jallifier  et  Vast :  Histoire  des  Temps  Modernes  et 
Contemporains.  Cours  de  premiere.  Quatrieme  edition, 
Paris,  1908.    Preface,  p.  6. 

2  France  Herself  Again,  p.  135. 

3  Duruy,  G. :   Ecole  et  Patrie,  p.  17. 

133 


PATKIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

In  the  light  of  present  events,  however,  it  is 
not  uninteresting  to  note  that  shortly  before  the 
great  war  a  history  which  bowed  the  knee  in  all 
sincerity  to  scientific  scholarship,  which  em- 
phasized the  general  development  of  civiliza- 
tion, rather  than  battles  and  campaigns  alone, 
was  taught  in  the  schools  of  France.  It  'has 
been  said  that  the  nationalist  historian  of  the 
nineteenth  century  must  bear  a  share  of  the 
blame  for  the  catastrophe  of  today.  ^  *  Woe  unto 
us!  professional  historians,  professional  his- 
torical students,  professional  teachers  of  his- 
tory,'' says  the  recent  president  of  the  Ameri- 
can Historical  Association,  ''if  we  cannot  see, 
written  in  blood,  in  the  dying  civilization  of 
Europe,  the  dreadful  result  of  exaggerated  na- 
tionalism as  set  forth  in  the  patriotic  histories 
of  some  of  the  most  eloquent  historians  of  the 
nineteenth  century.''^  Something  of  this  re- 
sponsibility, however,  must  be  lifted  from  the. 
shoulders  of  those  devotees  of  scientific  schol- 
arship who  would  have  their  historical  writings 
serve  truth  rather  than  nationalism.  Cold  and 
unsentimental  their  work  may  have  been,  but 
not  chauvinistic. 

^  Stephens,  H.  M. :    Nationality  and  History,  American 
Historical  Review,  January,  1916,  p.  236. 

134 


FOKCES  IN  FRENCH  EDUCATION 

Significant  as  the  twentieth-century  move- 
ment for  the  teaching  of  scientific  history  in 
France  has  been,  however,  its  importance  must 
not  be  exaggerated.  The  study  of  patriotic  his- 
tory in  the  schools  did  not  cease  with  the  is- 
suance of  the  programs  of  1902;  and  the 
years  immediately  preceding  the  present  war 
saw  a  reaction  toward  this  kind  of  instruction. 
Furthermore,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
French  history  does  not  lend  itself  to  the  teach- 
ing of  militant  patriotism  so  easily  as  does  that 
of  Great  Britain,  that  of  Germany,  or  that  of 
the  United  States ;  for  the  France  of  today  has, 
in  a  measure,  repudiated  the  France  of  yester- 
years. If  Jeanne  d'Arc  is  glorified,  anti-cleri- 
calism is  offended.  If  the  military  exploits  of 
Louis  XIV  are  extolled,  the  monarchical  prin- 
ciple is  thereby  exalted.  If  the  schoolmen  point 
with  pride  to  Napoleon's  achievements,  hero- 
worship  and  Caesarism  are  suggested.  On  the 
other  hand,  love  of  country  and  the  military 
spirit  can  be,  and  have  been,  inculcated  by  other 
means,  notably  through  moral  and  civic  instruc- 
tion. ^ '  I  will  not  say, ' '  proclaims  the  scientific 
Seignobos,  ^^why  I  seek  in  the  teaching  of  his- 
tory neither  lessons  of  morality,  nor  a  school  of 
patriotism,  nor  a  collection  of  worthy  examples 

135 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

...  I  do  not  say  that  these  things  cannot  serve 
a  purpose  in  education;  but  .  .  .  they  can  be 
taught  more  effectively  by  other  means  than  by 
history.' *  ^  The  use  of  these  other  means  in  the 
schools  of  France  has  lessened  the  necessity  of 
making  the  study  of  history  wholly  subservient 
to  patriotic  ends ;  and  the  possible  danger  to  the 
national  defense,  of  treating  the  subject  from 
the  scientific,  evolutionary  point  of  view,  has 
been  thereby  diminished. 


II.    PACIFICISM  VERSUS  NATIONALISM 

It  has  been  shown  in  the  preceding  chapter 
that  back  of  the  movement  to  introduce  a  new 
kind  of  history  into  the  schools  lay  the  ideal  of 
scientific  truth  and  the  theory  of  human  evolu- 
tion. Closely  associated  with  these  and  affect- 
ing, in  some  degree,  not  merely  the  teaching  of 
history  but  the  spirit  of  the  school  as  a  whole, 
was  another  principle — that  of  pacificism.  Now 
in  France  ideals  and  theories  are  more  than 
mere  formulae ;  there  seems  to  be  an  insatiable 
desire  on  the  part  of  their  disciples  to  see  them 
realized  in  practice.    Therefore  the  nervous  na- 

^  Seignobos,  Langlois,  etc. :  L'Enseignement  d'Histoire, 
pp.  2-3. 

136 


FOECES  IN  FEENCH  EDUCATION 

tionalist  viewed  with  alarm  the  growth  of  the 
cosmopolitan,  pacificist  spirit  in  France  in  the 
early  years  of  the  twentieth  century.  Further- 
more, the  pacificist  ideal  had  behind  it,  or  more 
or  less  closely  associated  with  it,  certain  politi- 
cal influences,  such  as  anti-militarism,  anti- 
clericalism  and,  above  all,  international  social- 
ism. Out  of  this  mixture  of  idealism  and  poli- 
tics arose  what  is  known  as  the  crisis  of  patri- 
otism in  the  schools. 

Modern  pacificism,  according  to  a  recent 
writer,  had  its  genesis  in  Eevolutionary  times. 
*^It  originated  in  the  extreme  left  wing  of  the 
French  Eevolution.  Its  first  representatives 
are  found  among  the  men  of  terror  and  blood 
who  made  themselves  known  and  abhorred 
throughout  the  world  as  *  Jacobins.* '' ^  In 
June,  1791,  the  Jacobins  addressed  a  proclama- 
tion to  the  inhabitants  of  near-by  countries: 
**  Brothers  and  Friends — To  you  we  announce 
peace,  confidence,  union,  fraternity.  English- 
men, Belgians,  Germans,  Piedmontese,  Span- 
iards, soldiers  of  every  people,  the  French 
and  you  constitute  but  a  single  people,  a  single 
family    whose    disunion    is    no    longer    pos- 

^  Kuhlmann :  Pacificism  as  an  Offspring  of  the  French 
Revolution,  Mid-West  Quarterly,  July,  1915,  p.  397. 

137 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

sible.''  ^  During  the  whole  of  the  Revolutionary 
period,even  when  humanitarianism  seemed  to  be 
almost  smothered  beneath  the  gi^eed  and  glory 
of  Napoleonic  conquest,  the  fighting  French  pro- 
claimed their  message  of  death  to  iTilers,  but 
peace  and  brotherhood  to  peoples.  Thus  para- 
doxically the  very  movement  from  which  sprang 
nineteenth-century  nationalism  gave  birth  to 
modern  cosmopolitanism  and  pacificism. 

The  humanitarianism  of  the  Revolution,  per- 
sisting during  the  nineteenth  century,  showed 
itself  in  the  sympathy  of  Frenchmen  for  op- 
pressed nationalities  in  their  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence and  unification — for  the  Greeks,  for 
the  Poles,  for  the  Italians,  even  for  the  Ger- 
mans. Shocked  and  disillusionized  by  the  War 
of  1870,  it  remained  in  abeyance  till  about 
twenty  years  after  Sedan,  when  it  began  to 
crystallize  into  a  propaganda  which  struck  at 
the  very  heart  of  the  national  ambitions  and 
even  of  the  national  defense.  The  murmurings 
of  anti-militarism  and  anti-patriotism  took  bold 
form,  attracting  the  disturbed  attention  of 
those  who  loved  the  Fatherland.  In  1891  the 
author  of  an  article  appearing  in  the  Mercure 
de  France  wrote,  **  Personally  ...  I  would  not 

1  Ibid.,  p.  401. 

138 


FORCES  IN  FRENCH  EDUCATION 

give  in  exchange  for  these  forgotten  lands  [he 
spoke  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine]  either  the  little 
finger  of  my  right  hand,  for  it  serves  as  a  rest 
for  my  hand  when  I  write,  nor  the  little  finger 
of  my  left  hand,  for  it  serves  to  flick  the  ash 
from  my  cigarette.''  ^  Then,  too,  a  prominent 
professor  conducted  an  investigation  at  the 
Ecole  Normale  Superieure  as  to  whether  patri- 
otism were  a  rational  feeling  and  whether  it 
would  bear  the  test  of  psychological  analysis.^ 
According  to  the  Abbe  Dimnet, ' '  the  cynical  ex- 
pression of  disdain  for  the  attachment  to  one's 
country  .  .  .  became  a  sort  of  elegance ' '  during 
the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century.^  *^If 
it  is  necessary  to  speak  frankly,"  says  the 
writer  whose  indifference  to  the  lost  provinces 
has  been  quoted,  ^4n  a  word,  we  are  not  pa- 
triots."* 

More  significant  than  the  sporadic  utterances 
of  *  intellectuals, "  however,  was  the  spread  of 
anti-militaristic,  anti-patriotic  doctrines  among 
the  workingmen.    During  the  last  years  of  the 

^  Quoted  in  Agathon :  Les  Jeimes  Gens  d'Aujourd'hui, 
p.  23. 

2 Dimnet:  France  Herself  Again,  pp.  134-135;  Aga- 
thon :  Les  Jeimes  Gens  d'Aujourd'hui,  p.  23. 

3  France  Herself  Again,  pp.  133-134. 

*  Agathon,  op.  cit.,  p.  24. 

139 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

nineteenth  century  and  the  early  years  of  the 
twentieth  the  propaganda  of  the  social  revolu- 
tion found  increasing*  favor  among  the  syndi- 
calists. This  was  largely  due  to  the  influence 
of  anarchists,  always  anti-patriots  of  the  first 
water,  who  began  to  associate  themselves  with 
the  workingmen^s  movement  about  1895,  and 
some  of  whom  later  became  members  of  the 
governing  committee  of  the  General  Confed- 
eration of  Labor.  Wearing  the  ^' false  beards" 
of  syndicalists,  the  anarchists  penetrated  into 
the  councils  of  international  socialism,  from 
which  they  had  previously  been  excluded.  Here 
they  were  again  able  to  make  their  dangerous 
teachings  felt.  The  pacificist  theories  of  the 
intellectuals,  the  anti-governmental  propa- 
ganda of  the  anarchistic  syndicalists,  the  vague 
feeling  of  the  laboring  proletariat  that  the 
struggle  of  the  future  ought  to  be  with  employ- 
ers and  rulers  rather  than  w^ith  the  working- 
men  of  other  lands — all  these  elements  were 
brought  to  a  focus  by  the  Dreyfus  case.  Here 
was  an  innocent  man,  degraded  and  held  pris- 
oner on  a  lonely  isle,  that  the  so-called  honor 
of  the  army  might  seem  to  bear  no  stain.  Mili- 
tary influence  sought  to  protect  the  real  cul- 
prits, men  of  high  military  rank,  at  whose  ex- 

140 


FOECES  IN  FRENCH  EDUCATION 

pense,  however,  Dreyfus  was  later  rehabili- 
tated. Even  before  his  innocence  had  been  com- 
pletely established  a  storm  of  indignation 
broke  out  against  the  army,  much  of  it  passing 
easily  from  opposition  to  the  army  into  opposi- 
tion to  the  state. 

Hence  at  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury the  old  ideas  of  cosmopolitanism  and  pacifi- 
cism seem  to  have  united  with  newer  political 
and  social  influences  to  endanger  the  security  of 
the  country.  ^ '  I  seek  to  comprehend  the  mental 
state  of  the  anti-militarist,''  says  Professor 
George  Duruy.  ^'This  man  is  ordinarily  a  re- 
publican and  a  democrat,  a  socialist  almost  al- 
ways. He  professes  to  love  ideas  of  which  these 
two  words,  republic  and  democracy,  serve  as 
the  insignia:  fraternity,  justice,  equality,  lib- 
erty, freedom  of  conscience,  etc. ' '  ^  Journals 
and  societies  directly  or  indirectly  connected 
with  syndicalism  bore  home  to  the  workingmen 
their  real  or  fancied  grievances  against  the 
army  and  the  state.  Mobilization  for  war  was 
to  be  the  signal  for  the  revolt  of  the  proletariat. 
^^ Instead  of  taking  up  arms,''  so  ran  a  procla- 
mation of  the  International  Anti-Militarist  As- 
sociation in  1908,  *^you  will  use  your  cartridges 

^  Ecole  et  Patrie,  p.  51. 

141 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

against  the  assassins  who  govern  you  and  you 
will  shoot  them  down  without  pity. ' '  ^  Thus 
paradoxically  a  militant  pacificism  came  to  men- 
ace the  Fatherland. 

True  to  its  tendency  to  reflect,  sooner  or  later, 
those  forces  which  go  to  the  making  of  the  na- 
tional Geist,  the  French  school  has  admitted 
the  influence  of  nineteenth-  and  twentieth-cen- 
tury humanitarianism,  cosmopolitanism  and 
even  pacificism.  Certain  textbooks,  even  though 
not  of  pacificist  character,  nevertheless  voice 
protests  against  the  spirit  of  aggression  and 
of  hatred.  Thus  M.  Hanriot,  who  certainly 
does  not  forget  the  lost  provinces,^  says,  *'We 
are  not  of  the  land  of  hatred.  France  does  not 
know  how  to  detest  anyone ;  it  w^ould  be  repug- 
nant to  her  spirit  to  set  up  in  her  system  of 
education  hatred  of  the  foreigner,  and  it  is 
not  we  who  will  ever  carry  out  against  any 
people  the  ^Delenda  Carthago'  of  the  implaca- 
ble Romans. ' '  ^  So,  too,  the  patriotic  historian 
Lavisse  points  out  that  to  love  one's  country 

^  Quoted  in  Tardieu :  La  Campagne  Centre  la  Patrie. 
Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  July,  1913. 

2  Hanriot :   Vive  la  France !  p.  124. 

^Ibid.,  p.  8;  similarly,  Despois  et  Laberennes,  op.  cit., 
p.  356. 

142 


FORCES  IN  FRENCH  EDUCATION 

is  not  to  desire  to  destroy  neighboring  countries 
or  to  rejoice  in  their  misfortunes.  **This  na- 
tional egoism  is  called  chauvinism;  it  has 
caused  Frenchmen  to  commit  terrible  mis- 
takes. ' '  ^  Patriotism — according  to  another 
writer — in  order  to  be  a  real  virtue  must  be 
regulated  by  the  sentiment  of  humanity,^  a 
view  not  very  different  from  that  of  certain 
of  the  official  programs,  which  require  to  be 
taught  **the  love  of  humanity  and  its  recon- 
ciliation with  duties  toward  the  Fatherland. ''  ^ 
Pacificism  is  not  counseled  in  passages 
such  as  these,  but  there  is  an  assumption 
that  the  ideals  of  patriotism  and  of  the 
brotherhood  of  man  ought  to  go  hand  in 
hand. 

In  some  textbooks,  however,  cosmopolitan 
and  pacificist  beliefs  exhibit  themselves  more 
clearly.  M.  Desmaisons  teaches  frankly  that 
above  national  brotherhood  is  human  brother- 

^  Lavisse :  Livret  d'Histoire  de  France,  Opuscule  du 
Maitre,  p.  45. 

2  Petit  et  Lamy :    Jean  Lavenir,  p.  249.    "True  Republi- 
cans," maintain  the  authors,   "desire  peace  with  all  men 
of  good  will.    During  the  Revolution  they  sang: 
'To  the  world  will  Frenchmen  give 
Peace  and  Liberty.' " 
*  Martin  et  Leraoine :   Lectures  Choisies,  p.  213. 
143 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

hood,  more  noble  than  the  other.^  One  author 
even  stands  sponsor  for  the  sentiment  of  Mon- 
tesquieu: ^*If  I  knew  anything  useful  to  my 
country,  yet  prejudicial  to  Europe,  I  would  re- 
gard it  as  a  crime. ' '  ^  In  other  cases  an  outcry 
is  raised  against  war  and  its  attendant  horrors. 
^^War  is  a  frightful  calamity.  It  has  its  origin 
in  the  instincts  of  barbarism, '^  exclaim  the  au- 
thors of  a  school  reader.^  **If  you  see  two  dogs 
who  are  barking  and  biting  and  tearing  at  each 
other, ' '  thus  MM.  Aulard  and  Bayet  quote  from 
La  Bruyere,  ^^you  say,  *See  those  senseless 
animals!'  and  you  take  a  stick  to  separate 
them. 

'^If  anyone  told  you  that  all  the  cats  of  a 
great  country  were  assembled  by  the  thousand 
in  a  plain  and  after  mewing  and  caterwauling 
they  dashed  at  one  another  with  fury,  and  that 
after  the  melee  there  remained  nine  or  ten 
thousand  cats  dead  on  the  field  of  battle,  would 
you  not  say :  *  This  is  the  most  frightful  thing 
I  ever  heard  of.' 

^^  And  if  the  dogs  and  cats  said  that  they  were 

^  Desmaisons :  Pour  le  Commencement  de  la  Classe,  pp. 
147-148. 

2Boitel:    Trois  Annees,  pp.  188-189. 
^  Martin  et  Lemoine :    Lectures  Choisies,  p.  213. 
144 


FOECES  IN  FEENCH  EDUCATION 

fighting  for  gloiy  would  you  not  laugh  heartily 
at  the  madness  of  these  poor  beasts? 

*^  Nevertheless  the  sole  difference  between 
the  beasts  and  you  is  that  they  use  only  their 
teeth  and  their  claws,  while  you  have  conven- 
ient instruments,  with  which  you  can  make  great 
wounds,  from  which  the  blood  can  pour  even  to 
the  very  last  drop.'^^ 

Since  war  is  so  terrible  it  is  the  duty  of 
France  to  preach  horror  of  it  and  to  render  it 
impossible  in  the  future  by  fostering  the  fra- 
ternity of  peoples,  by  diffusing  peacefully  the 
principles  of  1789.2  So  significant  did  Profes- 
sor George  Duruy  consider  this  sort  of  teaching 
that  he  asserted  about  1907  that  at  that  time 
the  general  tendency  of  the  authors  of  primary 
school  texts  was  to  expurgate  from  their  works 
anything  of  which  pacificism  might  disap- 
prove.^ 

If  cosmopolitanism  affected  somewhat  the 
textbooks,  however,  its  influence  on  a  certain 
proportion  of  the  teaching  force  of  France  was 

^  Aulard  et  Bayet :  Morale,  etc.,  Part  I,  pp.  95,  96.  The 
same  selection  is  to  be  found  in  Despois  et  Laberennes: 
Lectures  Morales,  p.  335. 

2  Aulard  et  Bayet,  op.  cit..  Part  II,  p.  12. 

*Ecole  et  Patrie,  p.  19. 

145 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

deeper  and  more  striking.  It  was  the  fond 
theory  of  Jules  Ferry  in  his  dream  of  a  lay 
school  as  the  cornerstone  of  the  Third  Repub- 
lic, that  the  instructor  of  youth,  passionately 
devoted  to  the  state,  would  avoid  the  quag- 
mires of  party  politics.  But  his  hopes  were 
only  partially  realized.^  If  the  earlier  teachers 
had  something  of  the  fanaticism  of  a  lay  priest- 
hood,^ forgetful  of  self  in  their  zeal  for  France, 
a  discontent  gradually  seeped  in  among  certain 
of  the  younger  men.  Their  meager  salaries 
compelled  them  all  too  frequently  to  lead  lives 
of  penury.^  Their  spirits  rebelled  and  they 
lent  a  willing  ear  to  the  tempting  teachings  of 
international  revolutionary  socialism.*  *^  Ex- 
perience proves,"  says  a  writer  in  the  Revue 
de  VEnseignement  Primaire,  **that  the  teach- 
ing body  has  nothing  to  gain  by  coquetting  with 
the  bourgeois  parties ;  it  is  its  duty  and  its  in- 
terest to  turn  to  its  natural  ally:  the  laboring 
proletariat.''^  M.  Gustave  Herve,  a  professor 
at  the  Lycee  of  Sens,  wrote  articles  insulting  the 

^  Goyau :    Le  Peril  Primaire,  Eevue  des  Deux  Mondes, 
Jan.,  1906,  p.  189. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  198. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  194. 

4  Ibid.,  p.  196. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  197. 

146 


FORCES  IN  FRENCH  EDUCATION 

French  flag,^  and  was  the  principal  signatory 
of  a  manifesto  calling  on  the  soldiers  of  France 
to  revolt  in  case  war  were  declared.^ 

Herve  was  punished  for  his  presumption,' 
but  his  bold  utterances  met  with  sympathy 
among  certain  of  his  fellow-craftsmen.  A  con- 
gress of  elementary  schoolmasters  meeting  at 
Lille  in  1905  professed  adherence  to  his  doc- 
trines, and  at  the  same  time  passed  anti-mili- 
tary resolutions.*  Another  such  congress,  a 
few  years  later,  voted  that  the  teachers '  syndi- 
cates should  subscribe  to  the  Sou  du  Soldat,  a 
fund  of  which  one  object  was  to  encourage  the 
desertion  of  soldiers.  So  strong  was  the  feeling 
in  the  early  years  of  the  twentieth  century  that 
an  educational  journal  actually  demanded  'Hhat 
they  banish  from  the  school  the  religion  of  'La 
Patrie/  "  Little  wonder  that  there  seemed  to 
be  a  crisis  of  patriotism  in  education ! 

^  Bodley :  Article  on  France  in  Encyclopedia  Britan- 
nica,  11th  edition. 

2  Journal  des  Debats,  March  7,  1908. 

*  Ibid. 

*  Bodley:  Encyc.  Brit.,  France;  M.  Chabot,  in  an  ar- 
ticle in  the  Bevue  Pedagogique,  Vol.  46,  p.  511,  says,  "Un 
grand  nombre  d'instituteurs  approuvent  les  articles  ou  M. 
Herve  insulte  le  drapeau  et  preche  la  desertion  ou  la  guerre 
civile." 

147 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

Nevertheless  the  reader  should  not  take  too 
seriously  this  pacificist  movement  which  cre- 
ated such  excitement  in  France  among  many  of 
those  who  dearly  loved  their  country.  In  the 
first  place,  if  cosmopolitanism  has  been  taught 
in  the  schools,  it  has  also  been  combated  there. 
Lavisse  points  out  that  the  national  disasters 
ought  to  teach  Frenchmen  to  love  France  first, 
humanity  afterward.^  To  be  convinced  of  the 
falsity  of  the  thesis  of  cosmopolitanism,  argues 
another  writer,  one  has  only  to  compare  what 
he  receives  every  day  from  his  country  with 
what  he  receives  from  humanity.^  Gerard 
maintains  that  cosmopolitanism  *' consists  less 
in  love  of  other  men  than  in  forgetfulness  of 
duties  toward  the  Fatherland.  It  flatters  itself 
that  it  loves  everybody,  in  order  to  have  the 
right  to  love  nobody. ' ' '  Finally,  Compayre 
sums  up  the  matter  in  his  blunt  way  by  stating 
that  citizens  of  the  world  are  egotists  and 
idlers.* 

Furthermore,  even  the  authors  of  the  pro- 

^  Lavisse :  La  Nouvelle  Deuxieme  Annee  d'Histoire  de 
France,  p.  405. 

2  Pontsevrez :    Cours  de  Morale  Pratique,  p.  125. 

3  Morale,  p.  226. 
*  Elements,  p.  61. 

148 


FOECES  IN  FEENCH  EDUCATION 

tests  against  war  which  have  been  quoted  have 
not  taught  a  spineless  doctrine  of  non-resistance 
to  aggression.  "War  for  national  defense,  for 
justice,  for  liberty,  they  hold  to  be  necessary 
and  right.^  Their  expressions  of  pacificism 
seem  to  be  intended  as  a  sort  of  psychological 
leash  calculated  to  hold  in  check  those  hot- 
headed spirits  who  would  fain  plunge  the  coun- 
try into  unnecessary  strife.  There  is  appar- 
ently little  idea  of  deifying  humanitarianism 
at  the  expense  of  La  Patrie.  Then,  too,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  at  the  very  time  at 
which  Professor  Duruy  was  writing  of  the  men- 
ace of  pacificism  in  the  school,  new  editions  of 
older  books,  books  like  Foncin's  geographies, 
were  being  issued,  in  which  the  military  spirit 
and  revanche  were  clearly  inculcated.  A  large 
proportion  of  such  manuals  had  a  wide  sale. 
In  general,  however,  it  may  be  said  that  just 
before  and  just  after  the  opening  of  the  twen- 
tieth century,  there  was  a  tendency  on  the  part 
of  the  writers  of  new  schoolbooks  to  soften 
militant  teachings  by  more  pacific  doctrines. 
Had  this  tendency  grown,  had  the  propa- 

^  Martin  et  Lemoine:  Lectures  Choisies,  p.  213;  Aulard 
et  Bayet,  op.  cit.,  p.  971;  Villain,  Comtois  et  Loiret,  op. 
cit.,  p.  214. 

149 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

ganda  of  the  social  revolution  continued  to 
spread  through  the  discontented  ranks  of  ill- 
paid  teachers,  there  is  no  telling  what  might 
have  resulted  to  the  psychology  of  loyalty  and 
patriotism.  While  politicians  were  bickering 
over  the  questions  of  militarism,  clericalism  and 
international  socialism,  however,  and  teachers 
were  exercising,  with  louder  voice  than  usual, 
their  well-known  avocation  of  complaining 
about  their  salaries,  the  nation  began  to  awake 
to  the  reappearance  of  an  ancient  peril.  On 
March  31,  1905,  William  of  Germany  steamed 
into  the  harbor  of  Tangier  on  his  yacht,  the 
Ilohenzollern.  The  emissary  of  the  Sultan  of 
Morocco  he  saluted  as  the  representative  of  an 
independent  sovereign,  and  turning  to  the  group 
of  German  residents  gathered  at  the  pier  in  ex- 
pectation of  his  arrival,  he  said,  ^'I  am  happy 
to  greet  in  you  the  devoted  pioneers  of  German 
industry  and  commerce,  who  are  aiding  in  the 
task  of  keeping  always  in  a  high  position,  in  a 
free  land,  the  interests  of  the  mother  coun- 
try. ' '  ^  It  was  a  warning  to  France  that  the 
mailed  fist  of  Germany  would  not  permit  un- 
questioned the  extension  of  French  influence  in 
Morocco. 

^  Quoted  in  Gibbons :   New  Map  of  Europe,  p.  72. 
150 


FOECES  IN  FRENCH  EDUCATION 

In  the  next  few  years  followed  the  Algegiras 
Conference,  the  Agadir  incident,  the  French  ac- 
quisition of  a  protectorate  over  Morocco,  Ger- 
man anger  thereat,  and  the  increase  of  arma- 
ments in  both  countries.  Contemporaneously 
with  these  developments  came  a  rejuvenation 
of  French  patriotism,^  while  the  tide  of  pacifi- 
cism gradually  ebbed.  The  year  1908,  accord- 
ing to  a  writer  in  the  Revue  Pedagogique,  saw 
anti-patriotism  among  the  teachers  yield  its 
tone  of  arrogance,^  while  the  author  of  a  book 
appearing  in  1913  could  say  ^^one  no  longer 
finds  ...  in  the  Faculties,  in  the  great  schools, 
pupils  who  profess  anti-patriotism.  .  .  .  The 
words  Alsace  and  Lorraine  call  forth  long  ova- 
tions and  each  professor  speaks  of  German 
methods  only  with  prudence,  for  fear  of  mur- 
murs or  hisses.''^  In  fine,  according  to  the 
same  author,  the  fundamental  sentiment  of 
youthful  consciences  had  come  to  be  faith  in  the 
Fatherland.*     The  cloud  which  had  overhung 

^  "Une  aube,  une  grandissante  aiirore  se  leva  sur  Vdb- 
scurissement  de  eet  automne  1905,  ou  notre  jeunesse  com- 
prit  que  la  menace  allemande  etait  present."  Agathon: 
Les  Jeunes  Gens  d'Aujourd'hui,  p.  30. 

2  Gerard- Varet :    Revue  Pedagogique,  Vol.  54,  p.  525. 

^  Agathon,  op.  cit.,  p.  29. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  22. 

151 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

that  psychology  of  patriotism  which  the  state 
had  fostered  so  carefully  dissolved  into  mist 
when  the  country  seemed  to  be  threatened. 

What,  then,  was  the  net  result  of  the  humani- 
tarian, anti-militaristic  movement  in  educa- 
tion ?  To  measure  its  influence  with  accuracy  is 
of  course  impossible.  Certain  it  is,  however, 
that  it  did  not  penetrate  the  heart  of  France  so 
deeply  as  excited  patriots  once  feared  it  might. 
On  the  other  hand  it  must  have  modified  chau- 
vinism; it  must  have  weakened  the  doctrine  of 
revanche.  Fundamentally,  it  seems  to  me, 
there  has  been  a  conflict  between  highly  devel- 
oped nationalism,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
principle  of  fraternity  on  the  other — that  prin- 
ciple of  the  French  Eevolution  which  has  been 
interpreted  to  mean  cosmopolitan  brotherhood. 
Since  the  Third  Republic  professes  reason  as 
its  guide,  since  it  acknowledges  devotion  to  lib- 
erty of  thought,  it  has  not  entirely  subordinated 
education  to  a  narrow  nationalism  but  has  al- 
lowed humanitarian  doctrines,  which  many  be- 
lieved to  be  dangerous  to  the  state,  to  appear 
in  the  schools.  Patriotic  instruction  in  France 
has  not  been  blindly  enslaved  by  chauvinism. 

It  is  doubtful,  however,  whether  the  pacifi- 
cist movement   in   education   seriously   weak- 

152 


FOECES  IN  FEENCH  EDUCATION 

ened  the  psychology  of  the  national  defense. 
Love  of  country,  belief  in  the  obligatory  mili- 
tary service,  the  government  has  all  along  ex- 
pected the  teachers  to  inculcate,  and  has  in- 
sisted on  such  instruction  by  means  of  the  offi- 
cial programs  and  by  a  highly  centralized 
system  of  school  inspection.  *'We  do  not 
know/'  wrote  M.  Bougie  several  years  ago, 
**  whether  there  ever  existed  a  pacificist,  even 
a  fanatic,  who  preached  seriously  to  his  coun- 
try the  doctrine  of  nonresistance  to  evil,  and 
in  consequence  the  necessary  preliminary  dis- 
armament. It  is  more  than  clear,  at  any  rate, 
that  such  teachings  could  not  possibly  find  a 
place  in  a  national  system  of  education. ' '  ^ 
Some  measure  of  the  excitement  in  regard  to 
anti-patriotism  in  the  schools  must,  then,  be  at- 
tributed to  the  exaggerations  of  alarmists. 
There  was  probably  comparatively  little  seri- 
ous thought  of  leaving  the  country  defenseless 
against  aggression. 

The  great  war  has  revealed  how  insecure  the 
imposing  structure  of  internationalism  really 
was.  The  German  ^ '  brothers ' '  are  held  respon- 
sible for  the  failure  of  the  French  workingmen 
to    unite    against    the    forces    of    militarism. 

^  Bougie :    Solidarisme  et  Liberalisme,  p.  216. 
153 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

Herve  is  writing  patriotic  songs ;  Ms  young  fol- 
lowers of  other  days  are  fighting  loyally  in  the 
trenches.  Infinitely  pathetic  in  its  resignation 
to  a  deferment  of  the  dawn  of  better  things  is 
the  *^War  Song  of  the  French  Workmen/' 
which  appeared  in  that  once  stout  champion  of 
staunch  internationalism,  the  Bataille  Syndi- 
calist e: 


The  day  that  Germany  opened  up  the  abyss, 
One  and  only  one  word,  peaceful,  sublime, 
Was  spoken  by  the  one-minded  people: 
''It  must  be/' 

Dear  workmen,  put  off  your  hope 
To  do  away  with  hunger  and  suffering : 
It  must  be.^ 

Thus  pacificism  has  been   engulfed  in   the 
maelstrom  of  soldiers'  blood. 

^  Stoddard  Dewey,  in  the  Nation^  Januaiy  13,  1916. 


CHAPTEE  VI 
PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

The  great  war  has  brought  Germany  be- 
fore the  judgment  seat  of  humanity.  The 
world  insists  on  knowing  what  manner  of  peo- 
ple this  is  whose  enemies  accuse  her  of  the 
worst  barbarities,  whose  friends  laud  her  benev- 
olence to  the  skies.  The  seeker  for  truth  stands 
bewildered  before  these  conflicting  opinions.  It 
is  as  unfair,  however,  to  judge  Germany  by  the 
excesses  of  some  of  her  soldiers,  or  even  by  the 
seeming  ruthlessness  of  her  treatment  of  Bel- 
gium, as  it  is  to  draw  a  verdict  from  the  propa- 
ganda of  praise.  Nor  is  the  spirit  of  the  works 
of  Chamberlain,  Bernhardi  or  Treitschke  nec- 
essarily typical  of  the  whole  people.  The  Ger- 
man school,  on  the  other  hand,  affords  the  fair- 
est field  in  which  to  discover  the  ideals  of  the 
empire  of  the  Hohenzollem;  for  Germany,  be- 
yond all  other  modern  states,  has  embodied 
national  aspirations  in  its  educational  sys- 
tem, which,  though  not  wholly  free  from  the 

155 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

influences  of  tradition,  custom  and  conserva- 
tism, recognizes  in  a  degree  elsewhere  un- 
paralleled the  value  of  education  as  a  political 
instrument  and  a  factor  in  national  evolu- 
tion. Here  it  is  that  one  finds  the  soul  of  Ger- 
many. 

Only  extended  investigation  can  reveal  how 
fully  her  educational  system  exemplifies  the 
spirit  of  Germany.  The  present  study  does  not 
profess  to  be  exhaustive.  It  has  made  no  at- 
tempt, for  example,  to  show  how  industrial  and 
technical  instruction  has  been  developed  to 
realize  the  ideal  of  national  efficiency.  A  care- 
ful study  of  official  plans  of  instruction  and  of 
many  textbooks  widely  used  in  recent  years  in 
German  schools,  however,  warrants  the  follow- 
ing conclusions : 

1.  Patriotism,  while  not  designated  in  the 
/  school  curricula  as  a  separate  subject,  has  been 

systematically  taught  in  connection  with  vari- 
ous studies,  throughout  all  grades  of  instruc- 
tion, from  the  lowest  common  schools  to  the 
university.  The  military  spirit  dominates  this; 
sort  of  teaching. 

2.  The  school  has  fostered  belief  in  the  mo- 
narchical principle  and  a  devoted  loyalty  to  the 
Hohenzollem  dynasty.    Doctrines  deemed  dan- 

156 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

gerous  to  the  present  form  of  government  have 
been  combated. 

3.  Education  has  tended  to  develop  national 
egoism  through  a  glorification  ot  German  civ- 
ilization and  German  achievements,  and  a  fail- 
ure to  make  due  allowance  for  shortcomings. 

4.  The  school  has  toyed  with  the  vision  of  a 
greater  national  destiny,  suggesting  the  hope 
of  increased  power  on  land  and  sea. 

5.  This  apotheosis  of  Teutonism  which  has 
characterized  German  education  has  naturally 
been  accompanied  by  a  disposition  to  ignore  or 
disparage  other  nations. 

These  various  features  of  German  education 
suggest  certain  comparisons  with  the  teaching 
of  patriotism  in  France,  while  they  furnish,  at 
the  same  time,  a  partial  explanation  of  the 
German's  point  of  view  in  the  present  war,  and 
of  the  process  by  which  this  viewpoint  has  been 
evolved. 

In  imbuing  the  youth  of  Germany  with  pa- 
triotism in  the  various  forms  of  its  expression, 
an  important  part  has  been  played  by  that  pow- 
erful psychological  stimulant,  suggestion.  Its 
subtle  influence  permeates  many  a  textbook 
from  cover  to  cover,  conveying,  now  an  impres- 
sion of  the  essential  faultlessness  of  the  Father- 

157 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

land,  or  again  hinting  at  a  national  future 
more  splendid,  greater  and  more  powerful  than 
the  Empire  has  yet  known.  Such  suggestion 
is  no  doubt  frequently  unconscious  on  the  part 
of  the  author,  a  natural  development  of  his 
own  hopes  for  his  country,  or  of  his  pride  in 
her  achievements ;  probably  he  would  resent  any 
intimation  that  he  was,  for  example,  advocating 
conquest,  much  as  an  American  teacher  would 
resent  the  imputation  that  she  had  been  fos- 
tering hostility  toward  Great  Britain,  perhaps 
at  the  very  moment  when  her  pupils  were  at- 
tempting to  enact  on  the  playground  some  stir- 
ring scene  from  our  own  Eevolution.  Yet  the 
psychological  influence  of  such  suggestion  must 
at  times  have  been  more  far-reaching  and  more 
fraught  with  dangerous  possibilities  than  that 
of  didactic  precept. 

The  use  of  the  school  as  a  training  field  of 
German  patriots  dates  from  the  time  of  Prus- 
sia's regeneration.  As  has  been  previously 
stated,  it  was  the  spirit  of  this  period  of  her 
rival's  history  which  France  has  striven  to 
emulate  since  1870.  In  the  hour  when  Napo- 
leon dragged  in  the  mud  the  pride  and  glory  of 
the  state  which  had  ^  ^  gone  to  sleep  on  the  laurels 
of    Frederick    the    Great,"    the    philosopher, 

158 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

Ficlite,  to  whose  inspiration  his  country  owes 
so  much,  ^^set  all  his  hopes  for  Germany  on  a 
new  national  system  of  education.''^  Those 
years  of  preparation,  which  culminated  in  the 
Battle  of  the  Nations  and  in  Waterloo,  were 
a  period  also  of  mighty  effort  to  base  the  power 
of  the  state  on  the  intelligent  loyalty  of  the  in- 
dividual citizen  and  soldier.  Hence  Prussian 
statesmen  turned  to  that  most  picturesque  of 
oddities,  that  most  successful  of  failures,  the 
one  conspicuous  schoolmaster  in  Europe  who 
had  been  able  to  secure  the  love  and  loyalty  of 
his  pupils — Pestalozzi.  The  king.  Stein,  Fichte, 
Humboldt,  and  many  other  noble  spirits  organ- 
ized the  movement  to  make  of  the  school  a  great 
factor  in  the  development  of  the  nation.  In  all 
grades  of  instruction  began  the  tendency  to  em- 
phasize everything  German. 

Thus  initiated  and  in  a  measure  fostered  un- 
der later  Prussian  rulers,  patriotic  instruction 
has  been  cherished  with  special  care  since  the 
formation  of  the  Empire.  In  this  zealous 
policy  the  influence  of  the  present  Kaiser  has 
been  especially  active  and  fruitful.  On  May 
Day,  1889,  within  a  year  after  his  accession  to 
the  throne,  the  Emperor  sounded  the  keynote 

^  Paulsen :  German  Education  Past  and  Present,  p.  240. 

159 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

for  school  instruction  thus:  *'For  a  long  time 
my  attention  has  been  engaged  by  the  thought 
of  making  the  school  in  its  various  grades,  use- 
ful in  combating  the  spread  of  socialistic  and 
communistic  ideas.  Upon  the  school,  first  of 
all,  will  fall  the  duty,  by  cherishing  reverence 
for  God  and  love  of  the  Fatherland,  of  laying 
the  foundation  for  a  sound  conception  of  politi- 
cal and  social  relations. ' '  ^  The  following 
year,  at  a  great  conference  of  educators,  the 
young  ruler  expressed  his  dissatisfaction  with 
the  instruction  then  in  vogue  in  the  Gymnasien, 
It  was  not  national  enough  to  suit  him,  nor  suf- 
ficiently adapted  to  the  needs  of  modern  times.^ 
In  general  he  perceived  some  of  the  possibilities 
of  education  as  a  political  instrument,  and  was 
intent  on  their  realization. 

With  the  attitude  of  the  Kaiser  in  these  mat- 
ters the  various  Plans  of  Instruction,  for  com- 
mon schools — Volhsschulen  and  MittelscJmlen — 
and  higher  and  normal  schools,  have  ever  since 
been  in  sympathy,  though  not  always  in  com- 
plete harmony.    In  deference  to  his  wishes  the 

^  Schoppa :  Die  Bestimmungen  .  .  .  Betreffend  die  Volks- 
und  Mittelschule,  die  Lehrerbildung  und  die  Priifung  der 
Lehrer,  etc.     Edition  for  teachers,  Leipzig,  1904,  pp.  36  ff. 

2 Paulsen:    German  Education  Past  and  Present,  p.  207. 

160 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

number  of  hours  devoted  to  Latin  in  the  Gym- 
nasien  was  decreased/  while  greater  emphasis 
was  laid  on  German.^  The  total  hours  given  to 
Latin  each  week  (for  all  classes)  was  reduced 
in  1892  from  seventy-seven  to  sixty-two.  It 
was  raised  in  the  Lehrplan  of  1902  to  sixty- 
eight,  but  German  and  history  retained  the 
number  fixed  in  1892,  respectively  twenty-six 
and  seventeen.^ 

The  significance  of  these  changes  as  an  ad- 
justment to  the  demands  of  nationalism  lies  in 
the  fact  that  the  Lelir plane  have  required  the 
teaching  of  patriotism  in  connection  with  the 
study  of  German  language  and  literature  and 
of  history.    ^'Instruction  in  German,''  accord- 

^  The  following  table  shows  the  hours  devoted  to  Latin 
each  week  in  each  of  the  nine  classes  in  the  German  Gym- 
nasien  for  the  years  1882,  1892,  1902 : 

VI     V     IV  UIII OIII  UII  on    UI     01  Total 
1882        999998888        77 
1892        887777666        62 
1902       888887777        68 

Kratz  Lehrplan,  p.  25. 

2  Paulsen :  op.  cit.,  p.  209.  The  author  of  a  recent  article 
on  "Pan-Germanic  Education"  says,  "The  present  Emperor 
did  his  utmost  by  the  rescript  of  1892  to  impose  the  teach- 
ing of  German,  history,  geography  and  saga."  Randall, 
Contemporary  Review,  November,  1915,  p.  593. 

3  Kratz,  op.  cit.,  pp.  17,  25,  55. 

161 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

ing  to  the  1902  Lehrplan  for  the  higher  schools 
of  Prussia,  ^*is,  along  with  instruction  in  re- 
ligion and  in  history,  of  the  greatest  educa- 
tional importance.  The  task  assigned  to  it  is 
difficult  and  can  be  fulfilled  only  by  teachers, 
who,  relying  upon  thorough  understanding  of 
our  language  and  its  history,  transported  by 
enthusiasm  for  the  treasures  of  our  literature 
and  by  patriotism  {von  vaterldndischem  Sinne), 
know  how  to  excite  in  the  hearts  of  our  youth 
ardor  for  German  language,  German  national- 
ity {deutsches  Volkstum)  and  German  great- 
ness of  spirit  {deutscJie  Geistesgrosse).^^  ^  Fur- 
thermore *Hhe  special  task  assigned  to  instruc- 
tion in  German  of  fostering  patriotism  {die 
Pflege  vaterldndischen  Sinnes)  connotes  for  it 
a  close  connection  with  history. '^  ^  One  of  the 
chief  purposes  of  the  study  of  this  subject  in 
the  normal  schools,  according  to  the  official  re- 
quirements for  these  institutions,  is  to  ^'aid  the 
students  in  gaining  the  ability  to  impart  such 
instruction  in  history  as  will  promote  patriot- 
ism in  their  young  pupils.  .  .  .  The  prospective 
teachers  and  instructors  are  to  learn  to  under- 

^  Official  Lehrplane  und  Lehraufgaben  fiir  die  hoheren 
Sehulen  in  Preussen,  1902,  p.  20. 
2  Ibid,  p.  21. 

162 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

stand  and  love  the  Fatherland,  its  ordered  life 
and  institutions,  that  they  may  become  quali- 
fied to  arouse  and  to  nourish  in  their  pupils 
love  for  the  Fatherland  and  for  the  ruling- 
dynasty."^  And  of  instruction  in  geography 
— ^'As  in  history  the  highest  object  is  the 
knowledge  of  the  Fatherland  and  the  compre- 
hension of  its  organisms,  so,  too,  in  geography 
the  greatest  stress  is  to  be  laid  on  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Fatherland,  its  character,  its  po- 
litical divisions,  its  civilization  on  the  material 
side  {materielle  Kultur)  and  its  commercial  re- 
lations with  foreign  lands.''  ^  Thus  in  Prussia 
as  in  France  the  teaching  of  patriotism  has  been 
officially  enjoined.  It  is  noticeable,  however, 
that  at  the  very  time  that  Prussia  was  espe- 
cially emphasizing  the  nationalistic  purpose  of 
the  study  of  history  in  the  schools,  the  French 
programs  of  1902  were  laying  stress  on  a  his- 
tory scientific  rather  than  purely  patriotic,  evo- 
lutionary rather  than  purely  military.^ 
As  is  to  be  expected,  the  spirit  of  militant 

^  Schoppa :  Die  Bestimmungen,  Edition  for  teachers, 
1904,  pp.  98,  99.  Cf.  p.  140  for  examination  requirements 
for  teachers  of  history. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  103.    Cf.  p.  140  for  examination  requirements. 

3  The   Prussian   Lehrplan    of   1912    shows   no   essential 
changes  in  these  matters  from  that  of  1902. 

163 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

patriotism  permeates  the  textbooks  dealing 
with  the  foregoing  subjects.  Much  of  the  teach- 
ing is  retrospective,  a  celebration  of  past  vic- 
tories from  which  may  be  inferred  a  glorious 
future.  In  a  school  reader,  for  example,  a  tale 
is  told  of  one  of  Frederick  the  Great's  officers 
who  with  six  men  put  to  flight  fifteen  Austrian 
hussars.^  A  burning  tribute  is  paid  in  a  his- 
torical text  to  the  martial  ardor  and  spirit  of 
sacrifice  that  characterized  the  period  of  Prus- 
sia's regeneration. 2     So,  too,  stirring  accounts 

^  Bellermanu  Deutsches  Lesebuch.  Erster  Teil,  pp.  241, 
242  et  passim,  for  other  stories  of  Prussian  courage. 

^Andra:  Erzahlungeii  aus  der  deutsehen  Geschichte. 
"Fired  with  enthusiasm,  the  people  rose,  'with  God  for 
King  and  Fatherland.'  Among  the  Prussians  there  was 
only  one  voice,  one  feeling,  one  anger  and  one  love,  to  save 
the  Fatherland  and  to  free  Germany.  The  Prussians  wanted 
war;  danger  and  death  they  wanted;  peace  they  feared  be- 
cause they  could  hope  for  no  honorable  peace  from  Na- 
poleon. War,  War!  sounded  the  cry  from  the  Carpathians 
to  the  Baltic,  from  the  Niemen  to  the  Elbe.  War !  cried  the 
nobleman  and  landed  proprietor  who  had  become  impov- 
erished. War!  the  peasant  who  was  dri\dng  his  last  horse 
to  death  .  .  .  War!  the  citizen  who  was  gi'owing  exhausted 
from  quartering  soldiers  and  pajdng  taxes.  War!  the 
widow  who  was  sending  her  only  son  to  the  front.  War! 
the  young  girl  who,  with  tears  of  pride  and  pain,  was  dis- 
missing her  betrothed.  Youths  who  were  hardly  able  to 
bear  arms,  men  with  gi'ay  hair,  officers  who,  on  account  of 
wounds  and  mutilations,  had  long  ago  been  honorably  dis- 

164 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

are  given  in  poetry  and  prose  of  the  triumphs 
of  the  Franco-German  War,^  ^  ^  the  beginning  of 
the  greatest  and  most  splendid  period  that  Ger- 
many has  known  in  the  course  of  her  history."  ^ 
The  strength  of  the  sentiment  for  the  Father- 
land is  illustrated  in  the  poem,  ^'Hans  Euler," 
quoted  in  ScheePs  ^'Lesebuch.''  Hans,  whom  a 
stranger  is  about  to  kill  for  the  slaying  of  his 

charged,  rich  landed  proprietors  and  officials,  fathers  of 
large  families  and  managers  of  extensive  businesses  were 
unwilling  to  remain  behind.  Even  young  women  under  all 
sorts  of  disguises  rushed  to  arms;  all  wanted  to  drill,  arm 
themselves  and  fight  and  die  for  the  Fatherland  .  .  .  The 
most  beautiful  thing  about  all  this  holy  zeal  and  happy 
confusion  was  that  all  differences  of  position,  class  and  age 
were  forgotten,  .  .  .  that  the  one  great  feeling  for  the 
Fatherland,  its  freedom  and  honor  swallowed  up  all  other 
feelings,  caused  all  other  considerations  and  relationships  to 
be  forgotten.  ...  So  much  did  the  sacred  duty  and  common 
striving  stir  all  hearts  that  nothing  low  or  base  desecrated 
the  splendid  enthusiasm  of  those  unforgettable  days.  It 
was  as  if  the  most  insignificant  felt  that  he  must  be  a  mir- 
ror of  morality,  modesty  and  right,  if  he  would  conquer  the 
arrogance  which  he  had  so  despised  in  the  enemy."  (Trans- 
lated by  Margaret  S.  Scott.) 

^  Bellermann,  etc. :  Deutsches  Lesebuch,  pp.  32, 34, 35, 57, 
etc.;  Scheel:  Lesebuch,  pp.  190,  360,  457,  etc. 

2  Lange :  Leitf  aden  zur  Allgemeinen  Geschichte,  Vol.  I, 
p.  67,  "So  begann  der  Krieg  und  mit  ihm  die  grosste  und 
glanzendste  Zeit  welche  Deutschland  in  seiner  Geschichte 
erlebt  hat." 

165 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

brother,  says  that  he  put  him  to  death  for 
threatening  the  Fatherland:  **You  slew  him 
then  in  a  just  cause/'  says  the  stranger.  *'I 
crave  your  pardon. '^  ^  In  the  same  book  ap- 
proximately one-third  of  the  space  devoted  to 
the  Sexta  class  concerns  itself  directly  or  indi- 
rectly with  the  teaching  of  patriotism.  Thus 
the  youth  of  Germany,  like  the  youth  of  France, 
have  been  psychologically  equipped  for  the  ti- 
tanic struggle  of  today.  They  have  learned  the 
supreme  duty  of  sacrificing  the  individual  to 
the  state  in  time  of  national  peril.^  The  teach- 
ing of  patriotism  in  Germany  is  less  formal, 
less  didactic  than  in  France,  and  so  perhaps 
even  more  inspiring  for  the  hour  of  victory.  It 
has,  how^ever,  certain  weaknesses  which  will  be 
pointed  out  later. 

Patriotism  as  inculcated  in  Germany  is  not 
only  national;  it  is  personal.  Loyalty  to  the 
House  of  Hohenzollern  and  adherence  to  the 
monarchical    principle    are    carefully    taught 

1  Pp.  162,  163. 

2  Treue  Liebe,  bis  zum  Grabe 
Schwor*  ieh  dir,  mit  Herz  und  Hand 
Was  ich  bin  und  was  ieh  habe 
Dank  ich  dir,  mein  Vaterland." 
— From  Hoffman  von  Fallersleben,  quoted  in  Bellermann, 
op.  cit.,  p.  32. 

166 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

along  with,  and  as  a  part  of,  devotion  to  the 
Fatherland.  As  has  been  previously  shown, 
the  students  in  the  normal  schools  of  Prussia 
are  to  qualify  themselves  ^'to  arouse  and  to 
nourish  in  their  pupils  love  for  the  Fatherland 
and  for  the  ruling  dynasty."  ^  For  the  higher 
schools  of  Prussia  we  find  prescribed  in  the 
Plans  of  Instruction:  ^' Where  the  history  of 
the  recent  centuries  offers  opportunity  to  pre- 
sent the  social-political  measures  of  the  Eu- 
ropean civilized  nations  [KuUurstaaten],  the 
transition  is  natural  to  a  presentation  of  the 
services  of  our  ruling  house  in  promoting  the 
welfare  of  the  people  down  to  today.'' ^  The 
textbooks  carry  out  these  instructions  with 
characteristic  fervor  and  enthusiasm.  Little 
tots,  just  being  taught  to  read,  learn  of  the 
delightful  paternal  attitude  of  the  Kaiser  to- 
ward his  people:  ^^The  Kaiser  has  many  sol- 
diers.    He  loves  us  all.    We  love  him,  too.''- 

^  Schoppa :  Die  Bestimmungen.  Edition  for  teachers, 
1904,  p.  99. 

2  Official  Lehrplane  f  iir  Hohere  Anstalten  Preussens,  p. 
48;  Kratz,  pp.  59,  60. 

^  Henck  und  Traudt :  Frohliches  Lernen,  p.  61.  The  de- 
sire to  inculcate  a  very  personal  loyalty  to  the  Kaiser  is 
illustrated  in  the  following  pretty  little  poem  ("Erika," 
p.  63)  quoted  on  the  next  page: 

167 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

His  great  ancestors  are  lauded  to  the  skies.  A 
poet  represents  the  inhabitants  of  Sonth  Ger- 
many as  saluting  the  Emperor  Frederick, 
^^Hohenzollern,  Son,  Sufferer,  Hero,  Sage! 
They  feel  for  him,  they  glory  in  him — now  their 
Kaiser. ' '  ^  A  tribute  to  the  Emperor  William  I 
reads,  *^But  whatever  the  night-covered  wings 
of  the  future  may  bring,  can  they  ever  bring 
forgetfulness  and  the  end  of  our  fidelity?  The 
rustling  wind  in  echo  whispers  ^Here  and  be- 
yond, we  were,  we  remain  thine.  Lord  and  Em- 
peror. ' '  ^    Frederick  the  Great  is  represented 

Der  Kaiser  ist  ein  lieber  Mann 

Und  wohnet  in  Berlin; 
Und  war'  es  nicht  so  weit  von  hier, 

So  ging  ich  heut'  noch  bin; 

Und  was  ich  bei  dem  Kaiser  wollt'  t 

Ich  gab*  ihm  meine  Hand 
Und  brachf  die  schonsten  Bliimehen  ihm, 

Die  ich  im  Garten  fand. 

Und  sagte  dann,  "Aus  treuer  LieV 

Bring  ich  die  Bliimehen  Dir;" 
Und  dann  lief  ich  geschwinde  fort, 

Und  ware  wieder  hier. 

^  Scheel :   Lesebuch,  p.  186. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  362.    See  also  Lange:  Leitfaden,  Vol.  I,  p.  68; 
Andra:  Erzahlungen. 

168 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

as  ^Hhe  most  powerful  example  of  unqualified 
and  complete  devotion  to  the  State/'  ^  The  au- 
thor of  a  historical  textbook  says  that  the  only 
fault  attributable  to  that  monarch  of  blameless 
life  (who  robbed  Maria  Theresa  of  Silesia,  in- 
trigued successfully  to  secure  a  share  of  un- 
happy Poland,  and  treated  his  own  wife  with 
cold  neglect)  was  that  he  preferred  French  to 
German  culture.^  In  general  the  Hohenzollerns 
are  a  race  of  heroes ;  ^  their  house  is  one  of  the 
two  firm  foundations  of  the  German  Empire, 
the  other  being  a  well-trained  army.^  It  seems 
as  if,  in  times  of  danger.  Divine  Providence  had 
always  sent  a  Hohenzollern  to  rescue  Germany 
from  trouble  and  distress.^  Only  grateful  de- 
votion to  Prince  and  Fatherland  can  main- 
tain the  State  upon  the  heights  she  has 
attained.^ 

^  Neubauer :  V  Teil,  p.  63,  Frederick  stood  "on  a  soli- 
tary height  above  his  people,  the  war-lord  and  statesman, 
the  philosopher  and  historian,  the  most  powerful  example 
of  unqualified  and  complete  devotion  to  the  state." 

2  Lauer :  Weltgeschichte,  pp.  173-4. 

^  Lange,  p.  68. 

*  Lauer,  p.  242. 

^  Andra,  p.  157. 

«  Fischer-Seistbeck :  Erdkunde,  III  Teil,  p.  92 ;  see  espe- 
cially the  Ministerial  regulations  on  this  subject  in  Schoppa : 
Bestimmungen,  pp.  40,  42. 

169 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

Loyalty  to  the  imperial  dynasty  has  been  fur- 
ther upheld  by  praise  of  the  monarchical  prin- 
ciple, in  the  official  directions  to  the  Prussian 
schools  ^  and  accordingly  in  the  textbooks. 
Certain  regulations  for  the  lower  schools  of 
Prussia,  for  example,  require  the  use  of  such 
a  textbook  as  will  show  *^how  the  monarchical 
form  of  the  state  is  best  adapted  to  protect  the 
family,  freedom,  justice  and  the  welfare  of  the 
individual. ' '  ^  The  author  of  a  historical  reader 
says  that  the  nineteenth-century  movement  to- 
ward individual  freedom  has  been  offset  by  the 
necessity  of  a  strong  state's  power,  and  espe- 
cially by  the  right  of  monarchy.^  The  Em- 
peror William  I's  manner  of  ruling,  and  his 
genuinely  royal  character,  according  to  another 
writer,  ^ '  strengthened  the  feeling  for  monarchy, 
in  which  lies  security  for  the  well-being  of  our 
nation. ' '  * 

Furthermore,  since  the  grim  shape  of  Social- 
ism ever  casts  a  shadow  athwart  the  throne  of 
the  modern  monarch,  its  doctrines  have  been 

^  Schoppa :  op.  cit.,  pp.  37-38. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  37. 

sNeubauer:  Lelirbuch,  V  Teil,  p.  122. 

*  Schenk-Koch :  Geschichte,  VI  Teil,  Unter  Secunda,  3d 
Edition,  1909,  p.  124.  See  also  Lauer:  Weltgeschichte,  p. 
176. 

170 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

combated  through  criticism,^  prompted  by  of- 
ficial mandate.  ^*The  instruction  in  economic 
and  social  questions,  in  their  relation  to  the 
present  time'^ — according  to  the  Prussian 
program  of  1902  for  higher  schools,  ^Memands 
peculiarly  reliable  tact  and  great  circumspec- 
tion in  the  choice  and  treatment  of  matter  to 
be  dealt  with.  The  instruction,  given  in  an 
ethical  and  historical  spirit,  must  discuss  on 
the  one  hand  the  justness  of  many  of  the  social 
demands  of  the  present  day,  and  on  the  other 
hand  expose  the  ruinous  character  of  all  violent 
attempts  to  alter  social  conditions.  The  more 
objectively  the  historical  development  of  the 
mutual  relations  of  the  different  classes  of  so- 
ciety, and  in  particular  the  position  of  the 
working  classes,  is  treated,  and  the  continual 
progress  toward  a  better  state  of  things  is 
shown,  without  any  display  of  prejudice,  the 
sooner  will  it  be  possible,  seeing  the  healthful 
common  sense  of  our  younger  generation,  to  en- 
able them  to  form  a  clear  and  calm  judgment 
of  the  dangers  attending  the  unjustifiable  so- 
cial ambitions  of  the  present  day. 

^^  .  .  Wherever  the  history  of  the  last  cen- 
turies offers  an  opportunity  of  reviewing  the  so- 

^  For  example  Neubauer:  op.  cit.,  V  Teil,  p.  123. 

171 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

cial  reforms  effected  by  the  civilized  states  of 
Europe,  the  transition  to  a  representation  of 
the  services  of  our  ruling  House  in  furthering 
the  national  well-being  down  to  the  most  recent 
times  is  a  natural  one. ' '  ^  A  French  scholar, 
writing  several  years  before  the  outbreak  of 
the  present  war,  does  not  appear  to  exceed  the 
limits  of  truth  when  he  says  that  the  professor 
of  history  in  the  Gymnasium  is  the  qualified 
representative  of  the  official  struggle  against 
the  social  democracy.^ 

In  Germany,  then,  education  has  been  used 
to  fortify  monarchical  rule,  whereas  in  France 
it  has  served  to  weaken  the  desire  for  one-man 
power.  The  German  school  has  placed  the 
Kaiser  on  a  pedestal;  it  has  crowned  his  brow 
with  the  laurel  wreath  of  loyalty  and  love.  The 
two  countries  are  at  one,  however,  in  having 
strengthened  the  stability  of  their  respective 
forms  of  government  by  means  of  the  school 
system.  On  the  other  hand,  a  comparison  of 
programs  and  textbooks  shows  that  the  schools 
of  the  Empire  have  paid  less  deference  to  the 

^  Quoted  in  Great  Britain,  Sioecial  Reports  on  Educa- 
tional Subjects,  Vol.  IX,  p.  200 ;  also  Kratz,  p.  59. 

2  Tourneur,  in  Seignobos,  Langlois,  etc. :  L'Enseigne- 
ment  de  I'Histoire,  p.  88. 

172 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

ideal  of  individual  liberty  than  have  those  of  the 
Republic.  Furthermore,  the  German  preach- 
ments against  socialistic  and  communistic  ideas 
bear  more  of  an  official  stamp  than  do  those  of 
France.  As  far  as  education  is  a  factor  in  na- 
tional life,  therefore,  Germany  has  probably  se- 
cured greater  docility  in  her  people,  though  not 
necessarily  greater  loyalty,  than  has  France. 

**  Perhaps  the  most  prominent  feature  in  the 
psychology  of  the  German  nation,'^  says  a  re- 
cent English  writer,  *'is  its  exaggerated  race- 
consciousness.'' ^  A  study  of  German  text- 
books does  much  to  sustain  this  accusation ;  for 
the  teaching  of  patriotism  melts  almost  imper- 
ceptibly into  the  inculcation  of  national  self- 
glorification  and  national  egoism.  Thus  Lauer, 
in  his  ^^Weltgeschichte,''  says  that  Germans 
have  never  been  defeated  except  when  fighting 
against  other  Germans.^  Sometimes  textbook 
writers  transmit  to  the  youth  of  the  Empire  a 
rather  excessive  pride  in  German  culture  and 
German  civilization.^    For  example,  an  English 

^  Randall :  Pan-Germanic  Education,  Contemporary  Re- 
view, November,  1915,  p.  589. 

2  P.  264. 

^  Brust  und  Verdrow :  Geographic,  Teil  I,  p.  36 ;  Fischer- 
Seistbeck:  Erdkimde,  III  Teil,  p.  88;  Daniel:  Lehrbuch 
der  Geographic,  pp.  262,  355;  etc. 

173 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

student  of  education  asserts  that  a  very  popular 
German  scliool  geography  ''contains  the  state- 
ment that  the  Germans  are  the  civilized  people 
of  Europe  and  that  all  real  civilization  else- 
where ...  is  due  to  German  blood. ' '  ^  Even 
though  the  word  ** German' '  as  here  used  may 
mean  '' Teutonic/'  the  statement  is  complacent 
enough. 

But  I  find  it  even  more  significant  that  in 
such  school  histories  as  I  have  examined  I 
have  never  met  with  a  real  criticism  of  Ger- 
many's past  conduct.  Poland,  for  example,  was 
responsible  for  her  own  destruction  by  reason 
of  her  internal  weakness ;  Prussia  shared  in  her 
partition  to  prevent  all  the  spoil  from  falling 
into  the  hands  of  Eussia,  to  bolt  the  door  of 
Prussia  against  the  Russian  giant,  and  to  con- 
vert territory,  formerly  German,  but  doomed 
by  the  Poles  to  well-nigh  certain  depopulation 
and  destruction,  into  a  land  blossoming  with 
German  civilization.^  The  war  between  Aus- 
tria and  Prussia,  whose  advent  was,  in  the  view 
of  the  foreign  looker-on,  promoted  by  the  latter, 
is  attributed  by  one  writer  to  the  desire  of  Aus- 

^Brereton:  Who  Is  Responsible?  p.  63. 
2Neubauer:  Lehrbuch,  V  Teil,  pp.  63,  64;  Schenk-Koch, 
VI  Teil,  p.  19. 

174 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

tria  to  recover  Silesia,^  by  another  to  her  un- 
willingness to  endure  any  augmentation  of 
Prussia's  territory  on  the  North  Sea.^ 

The  Franco-German  struggle  is  said  to  have 
come,  not,  in  part  at- least,  from  Prussia's  pur- 
pose to  unify  and  dominate  Germany,  but 
wholly  from  Louis  Napoleon's  envy,  his  Machia- 
vellian plans  which  had  long  been  maturing.^ 

For  the  student  of  the  psychology  of  Ger- 
many the  significant  fact  is,  not  that  her  chil- 
dren are  taught  that  other  nations  have  to  bear 
their  burden  of  guilt  and  responsibility  for  her 
wars,  but  that  no  part  of  it  is  attributed  to  the 
Fatherland;  its  shield  is  spotless.  To  those 
who  have  come  under  the  influence  of  such 
teaching  the  inference  is  natural  that  all  wars 
in  which  Germany  has  become  embroiled,  what- 
ever be  the  events  leading  to  them,  have  been, 
on  the  part  of  that  country,  wars  of  defense; 

^  Lange :   Leitfaden,  Vol.  I,  p.  65. 

2  Lauer :    Weltgeschiehte,  p.  221. 

3  Daniel :  Lehrbueh,  p.  356 ;  Lauer,  p.  229 ;  Andra :  Er- 
zahlungen,  p.  170  ff. ;  Sehenk-Koeh,  VI  Teil,  p.  108 :  "und 
am  18  Januar,  1871,  fand  im  Spiegelsaale  zu  Versailles  die 
offentliehe  Verkundigung  des  Deuischen  Kaiserreichs  statt 
nocli  mitten  in  dem  Kriege,  den  der  Erbfeind  gerade  zu  dem 
Zwecke  entfacht  hatte  um  die  Einigung  Deutschlands  zu 
verhindem." 

175 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

the  Fatherland  has  never  instigated  war  in  the 
past ;  it  cannot  now  or  ever !  The  present  con- 
flict jnust  be  a  conspiracy  against  the  beloved 
Fatherland!  There  is  something  naive  about 
this  exaggerated  race-consciousness,  something 
dangerous,  too,  as  well  to  Germany  as  to  other 
states,  as  the  obsession  of  a  religious  zealot  is 
dangerous  to  himself  and  those  about  him.  It 
leads  to  suspicion  of  other  countries,  to  an  un- 
willingness and  even  an  inability  to  recognize 
their  rights  and  their  legitimate  ambitions. 

It  is  natural  that  in  a  country  whose  recent 
history  has  been  as  brilliant  as  has  that  of  Ger- 
many, whose  wealth  and  population  have  been 
increasing  so  rapidly,  whose  territory  has  been 
so  restricted,  that  there  should  have  developed 
a  certain  demand  for  expansion.  Such  a  de- 
mand in  any  country,  however,  does  not  neces- 
sarily represent  the  attitude  of  the  nation  as  a 
whole.  So  Germans  have  pointed  out  that  the 
books  of  Bernhardi  have  met  with  but  little 
sympathy  in  the  Empire,  that  they  have  been 
taken  far  more  seriously  abroad  than  at  home. 

It  would  indeed  be  unfair  to  maintain  that 
Bernhardi  represents  the  attitude  of  all  his 
fellow-countrymen.  But  that  the  idea  of  a 
Weltpolitik  was  not  confined  to  a  small  coterie 

176 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

of  chauvinists  in  Geraiany,  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  its  influence  penetrated  the  school.  The 
pedagogical  significance  of  suggestion  in  the 
teaching  of  patriotism  is  perhaps  nowhere 
greater  than  in  the  inculcation  of  Pan-German- 
ism. The  Pan-German  vision  looks  forward  to 
the  acquisition  by  Germany  of  the  major  por- 
tion, if  not  of  the  whole,  of  the  territory  once 
comprised  in  the  Holy  Roman  Empire.  So 
far  as  I  have  found,  the  German  textbook 
writer  is  by  no  means  inclined  to  accept  Vol- 
taire's dictum  that  this  flimsy  political  struc- 
ture was  neither  holy  nor  Roman  nor  an  em- 
pire. To  him  it  is  the  ancestor  of  the  Hohen- 
zollern  Empire  of  today ;  he  usually  refers  to  it 
as  Das  deiitscJie  Reich, ^  and  takes  it  very 
seriously.  '  ^  Politically, ' '  says  the  author  of  a 
school  geography,  '  ^  the  Empire  furnishes  since 
the  Treaty  of  Verdun  (843),  for  more  than  a 
thousand  years,  therefore,  a  unity,  even  if  at 
times  only  loosely  held  together  by  the  German 
Kaiser-idea.*' 2     It  is  also  pointed  out  by  an- 

^  Andra :  Erzahlungen,  passim ;  Xeubauer :  Lehrbuch,  V 
Teil;  Fischer-Seistbeck :  Erdkunde,  V  Teil;  Daniel:  Lehr- 
buch; etc. 

2  Fischer-Seistbeck,  p.  91  ff.;  Schenk-Koeh,  V.  In  tables 
of  dates  to  be  learned:  "9G2-1806,  Das  Heilige  romische 
Reich  der  deutscher  Nation,"  the  next  entry  in  the  same  col- 

177 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

other  geographer  that  Switzerland,  Liechten- 
stein, Belgium,  the  Netherlands  and  Luxemburg 
are  either  wholly  or  in  great  part  inhabited 
by  Germans,  though  now  detached  almost  en- 
tirely from  the  old  German  Empire  to  which 
Ihey  once  belonged.^  The  same  author  also 
says  that  the  German  land  embraces  in  a  geo- 
graphical and  ethnographical  sense  a  territory 
of  850,000  square  kilometers.  ^^Its  chief  con- 
stituent part  is  the  German  Empire.  "^  The 
Pan-German  theory  furnishes  of  course  an  ad- 
ditional justification  for  the  sequestration  of 
Alsace-Lorraine  in  1871.^  Certain  Germans 
will  see  in  it,  also,  a  justification  for  the  ^^re- 
conquest"  of  Belgium.  Possibly  they  would  rea- 
son that  the  great  crime  was  not  that  the  im- 

nmn,  "Deutsche  Gesehichte,"  being:  "Burgund  kommt  zum 
Deutschen  Reiche,"  p.  115.  The  corresponding  entry  in 
the  same  author^s  Teil  VI,  p.  130,  is:  "Burgimd  fallt  an 
Deutschland." 

1  Daniel :   Lehrbuch,  pp.  424,  425. 

2  Daniel,  op.  cit.,  p.  315.  See  also  pp.  356,  424-425,  428. 
In  Fischer-Seistbeck :  Erdkunde,  V  Teil,  p.  76,  occurs  the 
following  statement:  "In  the  sectarian  turmoils  of  the 
16th  century  and  in  the  war-currents  of  the  17th  and  ISth 
centuries,  Germany  completely  lost  her  sea  power;  the 
heaviest  loss,  however,  is  coupled  with  the  separation  of 
Holland  from  the  Empire  in  1648." 

3  Daniel,  op.  cit.,  p.  271 ;  Lange :  Leitf aden,  Vol.  I,  p.  68. 

178 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

perial  forces  inarched  across  German  (i.  e., 
Belgian  ancient  imperial)  soil,  but  that  Ger- 
mans (i.  e.,  Belgians)  rose  to  attack  their 
brothers.  Certainly  the  textbooks  to  which 
reference  has  just  been  made  have  tended  to 
implant  in  youthful  minds  the  idea  that  terri- 
tory once  German  should  again  be  German. 
^^We  have  waged  no  wars  of  conquest/'  wrote 
a  German  girl  to  an  American  friend  in  Sep- 
tember, 1915.  ^ '  If  we  had  done  so,  Holstein,  Al- 
sace-Lorraine, Belgium,  the  Russian  provinces 
on  the  Baltic  would  not  have  been  torn  from 
the  Empire.''  The  Pan-German  suggestion  is 
Germania  irredenta} 

The  value  and  need  of  the  founding  and  main- 
tenance of  German  colonies  are  frequently  em- 
phasized in  the  schools,  and  with  their  corollary, 
German  power  upon  the  seas,  are  made  an  ob- 
ject of  inspiration  to  the  young.  Daniel's  ge- 
ography in  its  hundreds  of  thousands  of  copies, 
after  sketching  the  history  of  colonization,  con- 
tinues: *^A11  this  proves  what  immeasurable 
worth  colonies  had  and  still  have  for  every  land. 
Universal  history  shows  that  the  prosperity, 

1 1  have  heard  it  stated — by  a  German — that  many  Ger- 
mans today  consider  the  retention  of  Belgium  justified  by 
the  principle  of  nationality. 

179 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

3^ea  even  the  existence  of  so  many  states  is 
dependent  only  on  colonization;  the  Greeks  in 
antiquity  and  the  English  in  modern  times  are 
the  best  examples  of  this. 

*^If  now  the  question  is  asked  what  peoples 
have  contributed  most  to  the  colonization  of 
the  globe,  the  answer  is,  in  antiquity  the  Greeks, 
in  medieval  and  modern  times  transitionally 
the  Romanic,  but  mainly  the  Germanic  peo- 
ples. ' '  ^  This  final  statement,  that  Germans  are 
the  historic  colonizers,  the  Fischer-Seistbeck 
geography  for  higher  schools  expands  into  an 
impassioned  argument,  which  with  others,  eco- 
nomic and  geographical,  would  justify  Ger- 
many's claim  to  a  larger  place  in  the  dominion 
of  the  seas.2  ^'In  the  great  discoveries  at  the 
opening  of  the  modern  epoch,"  to  quote  but  a 
small  part  of  what  the  authors  have  to  say, 
*^the  Welfs  of  Augsburg  took  a  notable  part; 
in  three  expeditions  they  conquered  Venezuela, 
which  properly  should  be  called  Welfland,  but 
lacking  support  from  the  Empire  they  were  un- 
able to  preserve  the  colony.  The  scholar  of 
Metz,  Waldseemuller,  designed  the  first  maps 
of  America  and  gave  the  land  its  name;  and 

1  Daniel :  Leitfaden,  264th  Edition,  p.  52. 
-  Fischer-Seistbeck :  Erdkunde,  pp.  74-76. 
180 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

Mercator's  system  of  projections  became  the 
model  for  the  construction  of  sea-charts.''  In 
none  of  the  books  that  I  have  examined  have  I 
found  military  or  naval  conquest  directly  advo- 
cated, but  there  is  certainly  the  tendency  to  sug- 
gest the  right  of  Germany  to  an  increase  of  ter- 
ritory and  power  in  Europe  and  elsewhere,  in  v'^ 
a  word  to  a  ^^ place  in  the  sun.''  And  how  is 
this  ^' place  in  the  sun"  to  be  obtained  unless 
by  war  on  land  and  sea!  Such  is  the  natural 
inference  to  be  drawn  from  the  textbook  teach- 
ings in  regard  to  German  expansion. 

Nevertheless  the  use  of  education  to 
strengthen  the  idea  of  national  expansion  has 
not  been  confined  to  Germany.  For  revanche  '"' 
has  been  taught  in  France;  her  schools  cannot 
be  wholly  freed  from  the  accusation  of  having 
inculcated  chauvinism.  On  the  other  hand,  Ger- 
man patriotic  instruction  has  not  been  modified 
to  the  same  extent  as  that  of  France  by  the  in- 
fluence of  cosmopolitanism.  I  have  found  noth- 
ing approaching  pacificism  in  the  German  text- 
books. Indeed,  teachings  of  this  sort  are  hardly 
compatible  with  that  tendency  to  foster  a  mili- 
tant and  exaggerated  race-consciousness  which 
has  been  shown  to  be  characteristic  of  the  Ger- 
man system  of  education.    France,  on  the  other 

181 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

hand,  has,  through  the  school,  distinctly  com- 
bated the  development  of  national  egoism,  be- 
lieving it  to  be  dangerous  to  the  welfare  of  the 
state. 

It  is  of  the  essence  of  a  highly  developed  na- 
tionalism that  it  should  tend  to  ignore  or  to  dis- 
parage foreign  peoples.  It  is  hardly  surpris- 
ing, therefore,  to  learn  from  the  Prussian  pro- 
gram of  1902  for  higher  schools  that  the  ^*  his- 
tory of  nations  outside  of  Germany  is  to  be 
considered  only  as  it  is  of  importance  for  Ger- 
man history. ' '  ^  But  the  inaccuracy  which 
sometimes  accompanies  the  interpretation  of 
this  rule  is  a  bit  startling  to  those  Americans 
who  have  been  accustomed  to  think  of  Germany 
as  the  Holy  Land  of  scientific  scholarship. 
A  textbook  prepared  for  the  unter-secunda 
classes  begins  the  story  of  our  Civil  War  thus : 
*'The  North  American  Civil  War.  Between 
the  North  and  the  South  of  the  Union  the  sharp- 
est contrasts  had  always  existed ;  in  the  former, 
a  population  preponderatingiy  Germanic  and 
Protestant;  in  the  latter,  Romanic  and  Cath- 
olic. ' '  2  In  connecting  the  history  of  the  United 
States  with  the  history  of  Germany — in  accord- 

^  Official  Lehrplane,  etc.,  p.  215  and  passim. 

2  Schenk-Koch :  Lehrbuch  der  Geschichte,  VI  Teil,  p.  94. 

182 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

ance  with  the  official  regulations  of  1902 — the 
same  writer  says,  ^'The  relation  of  the  Union 
to  Germany  has  increased  in  warmth  since  the 
twelve  millions  of  Germans,  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  have  become  more  deeply  con- 
scious of  their  Germanism  (DeutscJitum)  and 
of  their  connection  in  spirit  with  the  United 
Fatherland  (Deutsch-Amerihmiischer  National 
Bund).^^'^  It  is  but  natural  that  Germany 
should  give  less  attention  to  the  history  of  our 
country  than  we  to  hers.  But  it  is  strange  that 
a  state  which  has  organized  and  developed  at 
great  expense  a  secret  service  system  for  gath- 
ering information  in  regard  to  foreign  coun- 
tries should  allow  errors  so  obvious  to  pene- 
trate the  minds  of  her  future  citizens.  Such 
teachings  do  not  make  it  easier  for  Germans  to 
understand  the  temper  of  the  American  people 
in  times  of  strained  relations. 

Among  the  many  accusations  lodged  at  Ger- 
many's door  since  the  opening  of  the  great  war, 
one  is  that  hatred  of  Great  Britain  has  been  in- 
culcated in  the  schools  of  the  Empire.^    ^^This 

^  Schenk-Koch :   Lehrbuch  der  Gesehichte,  VI  Teil,  p.  94. 

2  London  Times,  Weekly  Edition,  July  23,  1915.  As  far 
as  that  goes  I  have  understood  from  a  reliable  (and  "pro- 
ally")  source  that  in  at  least  one  military  school  in  Eng- 
land the  boys  were  taught  to  hate  Germany. 

183 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

process  has  been  going  on,"  says  Dr.  Thomas 
F.  A.  Smith,  *4n  lectures,  reading-books,  charts 
on  the  wall  and  all  the  other  apparatus  of 
school  life. '  *  ^  Dr.  Smith 's  contention,  however, 
is  weakened  by  his  failure  to  support  it  with 
adequate  evidence,  as  well  as  by  his  clear  and 
very  violent  prejudice  against  the  Vaterland. 
My  investigations  do  not  warrant  drawing  so 
severe  an  indictment.  Official  Plans  of  Instruc- 
tion and  textbooks  have  furnished  the  material 
for  my  study ;  and  it  would  require  an  acquaint- 
ance more  extensive  than  I  possess  with  the 
work,  method  and  personality  of  the  teacher 
in  the  German  schoolroom  to  determine  the  ex- 
tent to  which  hostility  to  England  has  been  en- 
couraged there.  Possibly  the  schoolmaster  has 
been  more  inimical  than  the  textbook.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  the  sentiment  of  the  textbook 
inculcating  love  on  the  one  hand  and  hostility  on 
the  other  loses  nothing  of  force  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  enthusiasm  enjoined  by  the  ^'Lehr- 
plan. '  ^ 

I  do  find  in  the  textbooks,  as  occasion  of- 
fers, however,  disparagement  of  Great  Britain. 
Her  policy  in  the  nineteenth  century  has  been 
shrewd  but  inconsiderate    (rucksichtslos),  ac- 

1  The  Soul  of  Germany,  p.  31. 
184 


1%^ 
PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

cording  to  one ;  ^  according  to  another,  she  has 
been  forced,  during  the  same  period,  with  natu- 
ral repugnance  to  admit  to  rivalry  in  world 
commerce,  first  France,  then  the  United  States 
and  finally  ^^us  Germans,  long  so  lightly  es- 
teemed. '  ^  -  The  same  author  holds  that  the 
pride  of  the  Briton  in  his  '  ^  old  England ' '  is  par- 
donable so  long  as  this  national  feeling  does  not 
degenerate  into  presumption  and  immoderate 
bearing  (immassliches  Wesen)  toward  for- 
eigners.^ As  a  consequence  of  the  Franco-Ger- 
man and  Russo-Turkish  wars  in  the  last  third 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  ^^  England  derived 
again,  as  she  has  for  two  centuries,  great  ad- 
vantages from  the  wars  of  the  continental  pow- 
ers.'^* After  specifying  these  advantages  the 
author  proceeds :  ' '  In  view  of  the  commanding 
position  of  England  as  a  world-power,  and  of 
our  unimportant  colonial  possessions,  the  lam- 
entable relation  which  has  arisen  between 
England  and  Germany  is  almost  incomprehen- 
sible." ^    *'The  increase  of  the  German  navy," 

^  Neubauer :  Lebrbueh  der  Geschichte,  V  Teil,  p.  138. 

2  Daniel :  Lehrbuch  der  Geo^aphie,  p.  428. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  275. 

*  Schenk-Koch:  Lehrbuch,  VI  Teil,  p.  119. 
5  Ibid. 

185 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

says  the  same  author,  '  ^  constant  and  with  com- 
plete self-consciousness  of  its  purpose,  is  fol- 
lowed by  the  English  with  unfriendly  eyes,  and 
there  are,  despite  all  mutual  efforts  for  a  better 
understanding,  very  iniluential  circles  in  Eng- 
land which  hold  that  an  enfeeblement  of  Ger- 
many (eine  Schwdchung  DeutscJilands)  is  neces- 
sary to  secure  Great  Britain's  position  as  a 
world-power."  ^  Of  England's  conquests  in  In- 
dia this  is  said:  ^^The  English  domain  of  in- 
fluence (Einflussgehiet)  was  uninterruptedly 
extended  in  further  India,  for  the  most  part  at- 
tended by  the  exercise  of  extreme  craftiness 
and  cruelty. ' '  ^  Such  occasional  criticisms  by 
schoolbook  writers  would  naturally  prompt  in 
the  pupils  memorizing  them  distrust  and  dis- 
like of  England,  but  they  do  not  make  certain 
a  widespread  and  systematic  purpose  to  in- 
spire ^^ hatred  of  England."^    Possibly,  then, 

1  Sehenk-Koch:   Lehrbuch,  VI  Teil,  p.  120. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  92. 

^  It  cannot  too  often  be  insisted  that  Treitschke  is  not 
necessarily  typical  of  the  German  attitude  toward  England. 
After  all,  he  taught  in  a  university  where  instruction  is 
more  highly  individual  than  in  a  school.  On  the  other 
band,  since  the  natural  tendency  of  education  is  to  yield 
but  slowly  to  new  social  forces,  antagonism  toward  Eng- 
land, a  comparatively  recent  sentiment,  in  its  more  virulent 

186 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

animosity  toward  Great  Britain,  which  undoubt- 
edly existed  in  Germany  before  the  war,  had 
not  thoroughly  permeated  the  schools.  The 
question  is  one  that  deserves  more  thorough 
study  than  it  has  yet  received. 

The  ancient  enmity  between  Germany  and 
France,  on  the  other  hand,  stands  out  more 
sharply  in  the  textbooks.  In  the  school  read- 
ers many  a  poem  in  praise  of  Germany's  past 
triumphs  preserves  the  vindictive  memory  of 
the  age-long  hostility  between  the  two  countries. 
In  the  soul-trying  times  of  1813  Amdt  roused 
the  heart  and  purpose  of  Germany  thus: 
^^We'll  redden  the  iron  with  blood,  with  hang- 
man's blood,  with  Frenchman's  blood;  Oh, sweet 
day  of  revenge !  That  sounds  good  to  all  Ger- 
mans ;  that  is  the  great  cause ! ' '  Repeatedly  re- 
printed,^ these  words  have  been  frequently  re- 
cited by  the  children  and  the  children's  chil- 
dren of  the  patriots  of  Amdt's  day.  The 
French  are  called  voracious  ravens ;  ^  in  the 
War  of  1870  they  were  full  of  envy  and  trick- 
form,  may  very  well  have  affected  a  large  proportion  of  the 
population  of  Germany  without  great  contemporaneous 
effect  on  the  schools. 

1  Seheel,  p.  367. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  368. 

187 


PATKIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

ery ;  ^  they  liad  stolen  Alsace  and  Metz  and  Lor- 
raine from  Germany  by  sneaking  cunning.^  A 
true  German  may  not  endure  any  Frenctiman, 
though  he  is  glad  to  drink  his  wines. ^  A  his- 
torian rejoices  in  the  defeat  in  the  Seven  Years' 
War  of  the  *^ hated  French"  {verhassten  Fran- 
zosen).^  In  general,  France  is  the  hereditary 
foe  (Erbfeind) ;  ^  and  Mr.  Eandall  even  goes  so 
far  as  to  assert — ^with  some  exaggeration — that 
^*  enmity  against  France  might  almost  be  said 
to  form  a  subject  of  school  curricula."^ 

Thus  Germany,  like  France,  has  equipped  her 
people  with  a  psychology  of  preparedness. 
Like  France,  she  has  held  before  her  sons  the 
ideal  of  military  courage  and  has  taught  them 
to  be  ready  to  die  like  heroes  for  the  Father- 
land. She  has  inculcated  this  spirit  of  patriot- 
ism largely  through  the  study  of  history,  of  ge- 
ography and  of  the  German  language  and  litera- 
ture; while  France,  though  not  neglecting  en- 
tirely the  patriotic  possibilities  of  these  sub- 

^  Scheel :   Lesebuch,  p.  191. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  193. 

^  Quoted  in  Daniel :    Geographie,  p.  261. 
^  Andra :  Erzahlungen,  p.  111. 
^  Scheel,  p.  369,  et  passim. 

« Pan-Germanic  Education,  Contemporary  Review,  Nov. 
1915,  p.  595. 

188 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

jects,  has  placed  more  reliance  on  books  of 
moral  and  civic  instruction.  Like  France,  Ger- 
many has  brought  her  school  system  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  existing  government,  but  in  so  doing 
she  has  fostered  a  devoted  loyalty  to  monarchy, 
a  form  of  control  to  which  French  education 
has  been  unalterably  opposed.  The  develop- 
ment of  this  sentiment  of  devotion  to  the  ruling 
house  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  factors  in 
the  patriotic  instruction  of  young  Germans. 

The  two  countries  are  alike  also  in  having 
planted  in  the  minds  of  their  future  citizens 
thoughts  of  the  recovery  of  ancestral  terri- 
tories. French  textbook  writers  have  taught 
definitely  that  the  state  ought  not  resign  itself 
permanently  to  the  losses  of  the  Franco-Ger- 
man War,  though  this  doctrine  was  preached 
more  fervently  in  the  first  half  of  the  Third 
Republic's  history  than  in  the  second.  German 
writers  have  suggested  conquest  by  reminding 
their  youthful  public  of  the  outlying  lands 
which,  according  to  their  interpretation  of  his- 
toric and  national  claims,  should  form  part  of 
the  Empire.  In  both  countries,  too,  textbook 
writers  have  been  allowed  by  their  govern- 
ments to  sow  the  seeds  of  national  antago- 
nisms and  national  suspicions. 

189 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

There  are,  however,  two  respects  in  which  the 
patriotic  education  of  the  French  has  been  of 
a  character  less  dangerous  to  world-peace  than 
that  of  Germany.  In  the  first  place,  the  of- 
ficial programs  and  consequently  the  text- 
book writers  of  France  have  laid  emphasis  on 
the  defensive  aim  of  the  country's  military 
preparations.  The  supreme  necessity  of  re- 
pelling invasion  has  been  constantly  reiterated, 
while  there  has  been  a  disposition  to  decry 
chauvinism.  In  Germany,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  tendency  to  glorify 
the  military  spirit  for  its  own  sake.  This  would 
naturally  lead  to  chauvinism.  If  this  tendency 
in  education  has  been  curbed  by  contrary  influ- 
ences they  have  not  come  within  my  ken. 

Secondly,  as  has  been  indicated,  a  greater  de- 
gree of  national  egoism  is  to  be  found  in  the 
textbooks  of  the  Empire  than  in  those  of  the 
Republic.  In  France  such  national  egoism  as 
existed  in  the  days  of  fat  prosperity  that  pre- 
ceded the  Franco-German  War  was  given  such 
a  shock  by  the  disasters  of  the  tragic  year  that 
it  could  not  possibly  recover  in  forty  or  fifty 
years.  Furthermore  the  devotion  of  the  French 
to  such  principles  as  those  of  liberty,  equality 
and  fraternity  would,  in  any  case,  prevent  her 

190 


PATRIOTISM  IN  GERMAN  EDUCATION 

from  being  completely  dominated  by  a  narrow 
nationalism. 

The  patriotic  training  of  early  years,  then, 
helps  to  explain  that  curious  war  psychology  of 
the  Germans  which  foreigners  find  so  hard  to 
understand  and  which  hinders  the  Germans 
themselves  from  comprehending  the  viewpoint 
of  their  foes.  Of  the  extent  to  which  his  at- 
titude has  been  determined  by  instruction  the 
individual  German  is  naturally  unconscious. 
Many  a  man,  in  every  civilized  country,  believes 
certain  views  absorbed  in  the  impressionable 
years  of  boyhood  to  be  the  ripe  and  reasoned 
conclusions  of  maturity.  The  German,  there- 
fore, often  bases  his  arguments  in  regard  to  the 
war  on  premises  taught  him  in  school,  premises 
unconsciously  assumed  to  be  axiomatic  but 
which  his  opponents  will  not  admit.  Thus  he 
assumes  that  the  interests  of  the  Fatherland 
are  paramount,  that  they  should  precede  every 
other  consideration.  Who  or  what,  therefore, 
will  gainsay  his  right  to  promote  them?  If 
devotion  to  the  state  and  to  its  ruler  impels 
him  to  acts  of  the  highest  heroism,  it  justifies 
also,  in  his  mind,  a  policy  of  rigorous  severity 
toward  those  who  would  injure  his  country's 
cause.    That  the  Fatherland  can  do  no  wrong, 

191 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

that  it  has  a  civilizing  mission  toward  the  rest 
of  Europe,  are  natural  deductions  from  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  textbooks.  If  the  European  may 
bear  the  torch  of  civilization  by  brute  force  into 
benighted  Africa,  why  should  not  the  light  of 
Kultur  accompany  the  armies  of  victorious  Ger- 
many? Furthermore,  wherever  there  is  a  hint 
of  Pan-Germanism,  it  leads  to  the  natural  infer- 
ence that  the  Fatherland  has  been  ill-treated  in 
the  past,  that  it  has  been  deprived  of  portions 
of  an  inheritance  which  may  rightfully  be  re- 
gained by  conquest.  Whatever  may  be  the  feel- 
ing of  foreigners  with  regard  to  the  justice  of 
his  cause,  it  would  indeed  be  difficult  for  the 
German  of  today,  reared  in  this  atmosphere  of 
patriotism  and  loyalty,  to  escape  a  sincere  con- 
viction that  he  is  fighting  for  the  right.  Prom 
infancy  he  has  been  dominated  by  a  narrow  na- 
tionalism. 


y 


CHAPTER  Vn 

THE  LESSON  FOR  AMERICA 

In  tlie  early  years  of  the  present  century  tlie 
temper  of  the  United  States  was  becoming 
nnwontedly  introspective.  Secure  in  the  com- 
fortable assurance  that  our  relations  with  for- 
eign countries  were  on  the  whole  most  amicable, 
and  confident  that  the  government  was  handling 
with  requisite  skill  such  difficulties  as  arose, 
we  began  to  concentrate  on  the  solution  of  in- 
ternal problems  and  to  engage  vigorously  in  a 
moral  housecleaning.  Then  came  the  great 
war ;  and  we  turned  from  our  study  of  corrupt 
politics,  malefactors  of  great  wealth  and  the 
sorrows  of  white  slavery,  to  a  dazed  contempla- 
tion of  European  battlefields  and  the  wreckage 
of  Belgium.  After  the  first  pharisaical  wave 
of  thankfulness  that  the  United  States  was  not 
as  other  nations  had  passed,  came  the  question 
whether  after  all  our  own  country  might  not 
some  day  be  involved  in  a  conflict  with  the 
highly  trained  and  scientifically  armed  troops 

193 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

of  a  foreign  power,  and  whether,  in  sncli  case, 
the  simple  expedient  of  locking  arms  and  rudely 
pushing  them  into  the  sea  would  prove  com- 
pletely effective.  Hence  the  demand  for  pre- 
paredness. 

In  opposition  to  this  demand  for  increased 
armament  arose  the  cry  ^^Preparedness  means 
war.'*  The  fear  developed  that  a  militaristic, 
swashbuckling  spirit  would  fasten  itself  upon 
the  United  States,  that  the  country  would  be- 
come overbearing  and  ambitious  for  conquest. 
Thus  preparedness,  it  was  argued,  would  arouse 
the  hostility  of  other  nations  and  would,  in  the 
end,  bring  on  the  very  conflict  against  which  it 
had  originally  sought  to  guard. 

In  spite  of  such  fears  the  sentiment  for  pre- 
paredness has  grown  steadily.  The  European 
conflict  has  clearly  revealed  the  fact  that  the 
desire  to  avoid  war  is  not  of  itself  an  adequate 
guaranty  of  the  impossibility  of  war.  Society 
has  not  yet  reached  that  stage  of  altruism  which 
permits  the  lion  and  the  lamb  to  lie  down  to- 
gether or  which  secures  the  safety  of  that  na- 
tion which  denudes  itself  of  armament.  Fur- 
thermore, the  United  States  has  recently 
emerged  from  that  condition  of  happy  isolation 
which  was  in  times  past  perhaps  her  greatest 

194 


THE  LESSON  FOE  AMEEICA 

safeguard.  Our  country  has  acquired  new  pos- 
sessions which  it  is  at  present  in  honor  bound  to 
protect,  even  though  it  may  look  forward  to 
conferring  upon  them  ultimately  the  rights  of 
self-government.  The  Monroe  Doctrine  places 
upon  us  vast  responsibilities  for  the  protection 
and  welfare  of  the  western  hemisphere;  in- 
volved in  its  defense  are  innumerable  possi- 
bilities of  conflict.  Furthermore,  Mexico  is  a 
constant  menace  in  spite  of  the  peaceful  policy 
of  our  President.  Nor  can  we  be  absolutely 
sure  of  the  continued  friendship  of  all  the  great 
powers.  The  rest  of  the  world  can  no  longer 
reckon  without  the  United  States;  the  United 
States  cannot  reckon  without  the  rest  of  the 
world.^ 

For  any  such  war  as  that  which  now  over- 
whelms Europe  our  country  is  of  course  entirely 
unready.  It  is  not  even  prepared  for  a  con- 
flict of  much  smaller  proportions.  Not  only  is 
our  army  small,  but  we  lack  that  trained  re- 
serve which  is  proving  so  effective  in  Europe. 
*^At  the  beginning  of  every  single  one  of  our 
wars,"  says  Huidekoper,  ^Hhe  Avant  of  trained 
reserves  has  caused  the  quality  and  efficiency 

^  See  Bacon:  National  Defense  (Handbook),  for  these 
and  other  arguments. 

195 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

of  our  regular  Army  to  be  adulterated  by  in- 
creasing its  number  of  raw  recruits. ' '  ^  '  *  Our 
history  is  replete  with  the  achievements  of  the 
volunteer  soldier  after  he  has  received  the 
training  necessary  for  war,  but  it  contains  no 
instance  when  raw  levies  have  been  successfully 
employed  in  general  military  operations. ' '  ^ 
The  untrained  patriot,  hastily  transferred  from 
civilian  clothes  to  uniform,  makes  but  a  sad 
showing  when  face  to  face  with  the  experienced 
soldier  of  a  hostile  nation.  The  reservist,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  apt  to  prove  a  good  fighter. 
Considerations  such  as  these  have  resulted  in 
vigorous  efforts  to  arouse  the  country  to  a 
realization  of  the  need  for  more  adequate  na- 
tional defense.  A  host  of  books  and  articles 
have  appeared  on  the  subject,  some  of  them 
worthless  or  mediocre,  others  more  worthy  of 
thoughtful  consideration.  Professor  E.  M. 
Johnston  has  taken  a  broad,  philosophical 
view  of  the  question  of  armaments  in  his 
^^Arms  and  the  Eace.''  Theodore  Eoosevelt 
has  voiced  his  convictions  in  his  two  books, 
*' America  and  the  World  War''  and  ''Fear 
God  and  Take  Your  Own  Part.''     The  actual 

1  Military  Policy  of  the  United  States,  p.  535. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  531. 

196 


THE  LESSON  FOR  AMERICA 

status  of  our  defenses  is  discussed  in  Francis 
V.  Grreene's  ^'Present  Military  Situation  in  the 
United  States''  and  Carter's  ''American 
Army."  The  weaknesses  of  our  past  military 
policy  have  been  pointed  out  in  General  Leon- 
ard Wood's  little  work,  entitled  "Our  Military 
History ;  Its  Facts  and  Fallacies. ' '  But  perhaps 
the  most  significant  of  all  books  dealing  with 
the  subject  of  preparedness  is  Frederic  L. 
Huidekoper's  "Military  Unpreparedness  of  the 
United  States,"  which,  though  "put  together 
in  an  incredibly  short  time — is  comprehensive 
and  well-organized,  and  carries  its  message 
with  extraordinary  force."  ^  From  books  such 
as  these  the  American  public  has  been  learning 
something  of  the  reasons  underlying  the  de- 
mand for  preparedness. 

Through  organizations  and  demonstrations 
the  sentiment  has  been  further  crystallized  and 
strengthened.     The  program  of  the  National 

^American  Political  Science  Review,  Vol.  IX,  p.  778,  No- 
vember, 1915.  For  further  references  see  Bacon,  C. :  Se- 
lected Articles  on  National  Defense.  (Debaters'  Handbook 
Series),  Vols.  I  and  11.  The  H.  W.  Wilson  Co.,  1915- 
1916.  A  new  book  likely  to  prove  valuable,  to  which  I 
have  not  had  access,  is  being  published  by  Putnam;  it  is 
by  Lucien  Howe,  M.D.,  and  is  entitled  "Universal  Military 
Education." 

197 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

Security  League,  for  example,  calls  for  less 
wastefulness  in  the  matter  of  military  expenses, 
a  stronger  and  more  effective  army  and  navy, 
organization  of  tlie  National  Guard  under  the 
War  Department,  and  ^'the  creation  of  an  or- 
ganized reserve  for  each  branch  of  our  military 
service."^  A  number  of  other  societies,  with 
somewhat  similar  aims,  have  devoted  their  in- 
fluence to  the  movement.^  The  demand  for 
adequate  national  defense  has  been  more  dra- 
matically voiced,  however,  in  the  great  parades 
of  citizens  in  New  York  and  other  great  cities 
of  the  country.  In  New  York  more  than  140,000 
persons  marched  for  long  hours  in  token  of 
their  sympathy  for  preparedness.^  Boston's 
parade  brought  out  some  40,000  marchers,* 
while  Chicago,  the  chief  city  of  the  supposedly 
lukewarm  Middle  West,  marshaled  a  host  of 
more  than  130,000.^  By  means  such  as  these 
the  demand  for  preparedness  has  fastened  it- 

^  Bacon :   National  Defense,  p.  15. 

2  Among  these  are  the  American  Defense  League,  the 
American  Defense  Society,  the  American  Legion,  and  the 
Navy  League  of  the  United  States. 

3  The  figures  given  in  a  report  of  Grand  Marshal  Charles 
H.  Sherrill  are  140,139. 

*  The  Outlook,  June  7,  1916,  p.  292. 
^  Chicago  Herald,  June  4,  1916. 
198 


THE  LESSON  FOR  AMERICA 

self  more  and  more  securely  upon  the  thought 
of  the  nation.^ 

Finally  the  two  great  political  parties  have 
declared  themselves  squarely  in  favor  of  a 
stronger  national  defense.  The  Republican 
platform  asserts  that  ^^We  must  have  a  suf- 
ficient and  effective  regular  army  and  a  pro- 
vision for  ample  reserves,  already  drilled  and 
disciplined,  who  can  be  called  at  once  to  the 
colors  when  the  hour  of  danger  comes. 

^^We  must  have  a  navy  so  strong  and  so  well 
proportioned  and  equipped,  so  thoroughly 
ready  and  prepared,  that  no  enemy  can  gain 
command  of  the  sea  and  effect  a  landing  in 
force  on  either  our  Western  or  our  Eastern 
coast.  To  secure  these  results  we  must  have 
a  coherent  and  continuous  policy  of  national  de- 
fense, which  even  in  these  perilous  days  the 
Democratic  party  has  utterly  failed  to  develop, 
but  which  we  promise  to  give  to  the  country.'* 

The  Democratic  party,  for  its  part,  states: 
*^We  .  .  .  favor  the  maintenance  of  an  army 

^  At  the  San  Francisco  preparedness  parade  occurred  a 
disastrous  outrage.  A  bomb,  placed  in  a  suitcase  and  set 
off  by  a  time  fuse,  exploded,  killing  a  number  of  persons 
and  injuring  many  more.  It  was  impossible  to  trace  the 
author  of  the  deed. 

199 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

fully  adequate  to  the  requirements  of  order, 
of  safety,  and  of  the  protection  of  the  na- 
tion's rights,  the  fullest  development  of  mod- 
ern methods  of  seacoast  defense  and  the  main- 
tenance of  an  adequate  reserve  of  citizens 
trained  to  arms  and  prepared  to  safeguard  the 
people  and  territory  of  the  United  States 
against  any  danger  of  hostile  action  which  may 
unexpectedly  arise;  of  a  navy  worthy  to  sup- 
port the  great  naval  traditions  of  the  United 
States,  and  fully  equal  to  the  international  tasks 
which  the  United  States  hopes  and  expects  to 
take  part  in  performing.  The  plans  and  enact- 
ments of  the  present  Congress  afford  substan- 
tial proof  of  our  purpose  in  this  exigent 
matter. ' ' 

It  hardly  seems  to  be  a  question,  then,  as  to 
whether  or  not  our  national  defenses  shall  be 
increased,  but  rather  as  to  how  far  prepar- 
edness is  to  go  and  what  form  it  is  to 
take. 

There  are,  however,  two  dangers  of  an  oppo- 
site character  which  may  develop  from  the  pres- 
ent situation.  The  first  is  that  the  prepared- 
ness movement,  at  present  sustained  by  events 
in  Europe  and  Mexico,  may  later  evaporate  in 
inconsequential  hysteria.     The  second  is  that, 

200 


THE  LESSON  FOR  AMERICA 

in  spite  of  the  protestations  of  its  advocates,  it 
may  foster  militarism. 

For  the  avoidance  of  these  two  possibilities 
a  rational,  patriotic  education  is  needed.  Such 
instruction  the  French  have  made  the  psycho- 
logical basis  for  the  national  defense.  Such 
instruction  they  have  used,  though  not  with 
complete  uniformity,  to  oppose  chauvinism.  So 
in  our  own  country  the  right  sort  of  education 
ought  to  furnish  the  most  effective  means  for 
reconciling  adequate  preparedness  with  those 
pacific  ideals  which  we  have  always  professed. 
In  the  development  of  such  instruction  America 
can  learn  much  from  the  merits  and  defects  of 
the  patriotic  teachings  of  France  and  Germany. 

The  apathy  and  ignorance  of  many  Ameri- 
cans in  the  presence  of  contemporary  crisis 
furnish  one  of  the  clearest  indications  of  the 
inadequacy  of  the  patriotic  instruction  now 
given  in  our  schools.  It  is  significant  that  a 
leading  educator  has  recently  written  that  ^ '  for 
a  generation  past  the  teaching  of  civics  aimed 
at  little  more  than  the  acquisition  of  knowledge 
about  government.  It  was  assumed  that  the 
school's  function  did  not  extend  beyond  an  in- 
tellectual treatment  of  social  and  political  wel- 
fare.   The  subject  matter  was  formal  and  neo- 

201 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

essarily  barren,  remote  from  ordinary  human 
interests,  and  more  remote  still  from  any  con- 
cerns of  children/'  ^  It  is  even  more  significant 
that  the  index  of  the  1915  volume  of  the  ^'Ad- 
dresses and  Proceedings  of  the  National  Edu- 
cation Association,''  which  contains  some  eight- 
een references  to  vocational  education,  contains 
none  to  patriotism.^  Nor  is  this  heading  to  be 
found  in  the  index  of  any  of  the  preceding  vol- 

1  Suzzallo,  H.,  in  Hill,  M. :  The  Teaching  of  Civics,  Ed- 
itor's Introduction,  p.  v. 

2  The  tone  of  certain  resolutions  adopted  at  the  1915 
meeting"  of  the  National  Education  Association  was  de- 
cidedly pacificist.  This  year  (1916),  after  some  debate,  a 
resolution,  mild  enough,  yet  very  different  from  those  of 
last  year,  was  adopted.  The  Association  "affirms  its  belief 
that  the  instruction  in  the  school  should  tend  to  furnish  the 
mind  with  the  knowledge  of  the  arts  and  sciences  on  which 
the  prosperity  of  the  nations  rests  and  to  incline  the  will 
of  men  and  nations  toward  acts  of  peace;  it  declares  its 
devotion  to  America  and  American  ideals  and  recognizes 
the  claims  of  our  beloved  country  on  our  property,  our 
minds,  our  hearts,  and  our  lives.  It  records  its  conviction 
that  the  true  policy  to  be  followed  both  by  the  school  and  by 
the  nation  which  it  senses  is  to  keep  the  American  public 
school  free  from  sectarian  interference,  partisan  politics 
and  disputed  public  policies,  that  it  may  remain  unimpaired 
in  its  power  to  serve  the  whole  people.  While  it  recog- 
nizes that  the  community,  or  the  state,  may  introduce  such 
elements  of  military  training  into  the  schools  as  may  seem 
wise  and  prudent,  yet  it  believes  that  such  training  should 

202 


THE  LESSON  FOE  AMERICA 

umes  for  at  least  eight  years.  This  is  the  more 
noticeable  as  the  work  of  this  association  fur- 
nishes probably  the  clearest  indication  of  the 
general  trend  of  contemporary  educational 
thought  in  the  United  States.  It  is  said  that  in 
the  mountain  regions  of  some  of  the  Southern 
States  there  are  many  children  who  have  never 
even  seen  an  American  flag.^  Conditions  are 
better,  indeed,  than  they  were  ten  years  ago. 
Something  has  been  done  to  improve  our  de- 
plorably insufficient  instruction  in  patriotism. 
But  the  problem  is  not  to  be  solved  simply  by 
the  passage  of  laws  requiring  schools  to  display 
in  a  conspicuous  place  the  American  flag,  or 
requiring  the  children  to  salute  it,  or  setting 
apart  a  day  in  its  honor.  It  is  not  to  be  solved 
simply  by  expecting  pupils  to  learn  the  national 
airs,  or  to  study  civics  and  American  history 
after  the  old-fashioned  manner.  What  is 
needed  is  a  great  national  awakening. 

The  most  obvious  form  of  educational  pre- 
paredness is  that  of  military  drill  in  the  public 

be  strictly  educational  in  its  aim  and  organization,  and  that 
militarj^  ends  should  not  be  permitted  to  pervert  the  edu- 
cational purposes  and  practices  of  the  school," 

^  This  is  vouched  for  by  a  prominent  member  of  the  So- 
ciety of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution. 

203 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

schools.  Prompted  by  the  present  excitement, 
the  legislatures  of  several  states  have  turned 
their  attention  to  this  matter,  and  New  York 
has  actually  passed  a  law  requiring,  among 
other  things,  that  schoolboys  between  sixteen 
and  nineteen  years  of  age  shall  drill  regularly. 
The  experience  of  France,  however,  warns 
against  the  over-confident  enthusiasm  which 
sees  in  the  khaki-clad  high  school  lad  a  tower 
of  strength  in  time  of  trouble.  Long  before  the 
present  war  had  revealed  how  wide  was  the 
gap  between  the  parade  ground  and  the  battle- 
field, patriotic  Frenchmen  were  inclined  to  look 
with  disfavor  ^  on  those  hataillons  scolaires  in 
which  they  had  taken  such  pride  in  the  earlier 
days  of  the  Republic.^  The  American  scholar, 
Farrington,  writing  of  the  French  primary 
schools  in  the  early  twentieth  century,  reports, 
*  *■  The  only  military  drill  that  I  ever  found  was 
confined  to  simple  marches  and  squad  evolu- 
tions entirely  without  arms.  Even  this  is  found 
but  rarely. ' '  ^  ^ '  Do  you  prepare  men ! ' '  General 
Chanzy  once  said,  addressing  a  gathering  of 

^  De  Coubertin :    "Bataillons  Scolaires  ou  Cowboys,"  in 
Le  Foyer,  Jan.  1,  1913. 

2  Hanriot :    Vive  la  France !  p.  8. 

"  The  Public  Primary  School  System  of  France,  p.  114. 
204 


THE  LESSON  FOR  AMERICA 

teachers.    **  Leave  to  us  the  task  of  making  sol- 
diers.'^  ^ 

The  skepticism  of  the  French  in  regard  to  the 
efficacy  of  military  drill  in  the  schools  is  par- 
alleled by  the  findings  of  the  legislative  commis- 
sion appointed  to  consider  the  question  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. Having  shared  in  the  investigation 
conducted  by  this  body,  Commissioner  Snedden 
reports  that  such  military  drill  as  is  taught  in 
schools  can  have  little  functional  significance 
in  war  as  it  is  now  waged.  For  example,  orders 
on  the  battlefield  *'are  given  by  whistles  and 
signals,  just  as  you  see  in  the  case  of  a  fore- 
man of  a  great  building;  and  there  are  orders 
that  are  whispered  along  from  man  to  man. 
But  that  beautiful  way  of  shouting  out  orders 
is  a  thing  of  the  past. '  ^  ^  Rifle  practice,  how- 
ever. Dr.  Snedden  considers  valuable.  ^*I  do 
not  see  why  we  should  not  train  boys  of  twelve 
years  with  the  rifle.  Boys  of  twelve  are  plas- 
tic. ' '  ^  Furthermore,  he  advocates  the  develop- 
ment of  a  program  of  physical  training  for 
high  school  boys.^    All  these  things  show  that 

1  Quoted  by  De  Coubertin,  in  Le  Foyer,  Jan.  1,  1913. 

2  Snedden :  Military  Training  in  the  High  School  in  Edu- 
cation, May,  1916,  p.  613. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  614. 
*Ibid.,  p.  615. 

205 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

little  reliance  can  be  placed  in  war  time  on  tlie 
results  of  the  old-fashioned  military  drill. 
Something  may  be  done  perhaps  to  prepare  the 
schoolboy  for  the  actual  tasks  of  the  soldier.  It 
is  noticeable  that  the  Boy  Scout  movement  met 
with  some  sympatliy  in  France  in  the  years 
immediately  preceding  the  world-conflict.  Its 
activities,  like  those  suggested  by  Commis- 
sioner Snedden,  bear  a  real  relation  to  warfare. 
But  in  making  ready  for  the  day  of  national 
danger,  the  chief  concern  of  the  French  school 
has  been  with  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  boy 
rather  than  with  his  body.  Likewise  for  the 
defense  of  America,  the  development  of  a  vig- 
orous psychology  of  patriotism  and  loyalty  is 
more  necessary  than  the  formal  drilling  of  high 
school  cadets. 

High  ideals  and  definite  knowledge  should 
constitute  the  basis  of  this  psychology.  Recent 
educational  experimentation  tends  to  confirm 
the  ancient  belief  that  right  habits  are  best 
formed  where  right  ideals  have  been  patiently 
inculcated.  There  is  today  too  much  sentimen- 
tality in  the  teaching  of  patriotism  in  America, 
too  little  true  sentiment.  Love  of  country  is 
taught,  but  the  duty  of  self-sacrifice  for  the  sake 
of  the  Fatherland  is  not  brought  home  to  the 

206 


THE  LESSON  FOR  AMERICA 

American  boy  with  sufficient  emphasis.  In 
France  and  Germany,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  school-children  are  im- 
pregnated, from  their  earliest  days,  with  a  stern 
sense  of  responsibility  toward  the  nation  in 
peace  and  in  war.  French  boys  learn  something 
of  the  grim  realities  of  war ;  but  they  learn,  too, 
that  they  must  be  prepared  to  face  these  reali- 
ties if  their  country  demands  it.  So  in  the 
United  States  the  old  individualistic  ideal  in 
education,  redolent  of  the  pioneer  spirit,  must 
yield  to  the  ideal  of  national  responsibility.  The 
American  must  be  trained,  from  childhood,  as 
the  Frenchman  has  been,  to  make  whatever  sac- 
rifice an  endangered  Fatherland  may  demand. 
Nor  is  a  general  willingness  to  defend  one's 
country  in  time  of  war  the  sole  demand  which 
national  mihtary  efficiency  makes  upon  the 
psychology  of  the  schoolboy.  Courage  and 
coolness  must,  as  far  as  possible,  become  sec- 
ond nature  with  him.  We  admire  the  heroic 
deeds  of  the  French  or  German  soldier  in  to- 
day's conflict,  but  at  the  same  time  we  are  prone 
to  assume  that  war  changes  a  man's  psychology 
over  night,  transforming  a  ribbon-counter  clerk 
into  a  prodigy  of  valor.  We  forget  that  from 
childhood  the  ideal  of  courage  has  been  fos- 
207 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

tered  in  him.  So  must  it  be  fostered  in  the 
American  boy — far  more  than  it  is  at  present. 
Idealism  must  be  accompanied  by  intelli- 
gence. The  defeat  of  France  in  the  Franco- 
German  War  stands  as  a  terrible  warning 
against  ignorant  over-confidence.  The  intellec- 
tual efficiency  of  the  Prussian  soldier  in  the 
same  struggle  shows  the  value  of  discriminating 
knowledge.  Much  of  this  knowledge  was  incul- 
cated, of  course,  during  the  years  of  com- 
pulsory military  training;  but  its  foundation 
was  laid  in  the  school. 

fi  our  own  country  it  is  necessary  first  of 
that  American  history  for  schools  should 
be  written  in  a  different  way,  and  taught  in  a 
different  way,  from  that  in  use  at  present.  The 
trouble  with  the  average  historical  text  is  not 
so  much  that  specific  facts  are  misrepresented 
as  that  the  general  perspective  is  wrong.  The 
impression  gained  from  a  perusal  of  one  of 
these  works  is  that  while  our  troops  were  de- 
feated in  individual  battles,  their  record  as  a 
whole  has  been  brilliantly  successful.  Even 
where  defeated,  they  fought  heroically,  yielding 
only  to  overwhelming  numbers  or  because  of 
circumstances  over  which  they  had  no  control. 
The  calm  confidence  of  many  American  citizens 

208 


THE  LESSON  FOR  AMERICA 

that  embattled  farmers  can  always  be  counted 
on  to  repel  the  invasions  of  a  foreign  foe  is 
based  largely  on  what  they  learned  of  Ameri- 
can history  in  school.  Of  the  origins  of  their 
point  of  view  these  worthy  citizens  are  nat- 
urally unconscious,  just  as  the  Germans  are  un- 
conscious of  the  origins  of  their  present  war 
psychology.  Such  instruction  leads  easily  to 
the  belief  that  an  unprepared  United  States  can 
*^lick  the  world.''  Its  influence  cannot  but  be 
pernicious  in  the  hour  of  danger. 

Patriotism,  as  well  as  scholarship,  demands 
that  school  children  know  not  merely  the  truth, 
but  the  whole  truth.  The  weakness  and  ineffec- 
tiveness of  our  military  policy  at  various  pe- 
riods of  our  history  should  not  be  concealed 
from  them^p^hey  should  know,  for  example,  of 
the  disastrous  battle  of  Bladensburg,  which  pre- 
ceded the  capture  of  the  city  of  Washington  in 
1814.  ^^On  the  24th  of  August,''  says  the  can- 
did Upton,  ^Hhe  army  described  by  its  com- 
mander as  ^suddenly  assembled  without  or- 
ganization,' or  discipline,  or  officers  with  the 
least  knowledge  of  service,  numbered  5,401,  of 
whom  400  were  regulars,  600  marines,  and  20 
sailors,  the  remainder  being  volunteers  and 
militia. 

209 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

^'The  same  day  the  army  thus  hastily  as- 
sembled was  as  hastily  formed  in  order  of  bat- 
tle at  Bladensburg,  where,  in  the  presence  of 
the  President  and  the  Cabinet,  it  was  attacked 
and  routed  with  the  loss  of  but  8  killed  and  11 
wounded. 

*^  .  .  The  British  force  .  .  .  numbered 
3,500,  of  which  only  a  part  of  the  advance  divi- 
sion of  1,500  were  engaged. ' '  ^  Upton  contrasts 
this  battle  with  that  of  Lundy's  Lane,  a  month 
earlier,  where  American  regulars  fought  with 
the  greatest  courage  and  endurance.  Of  the 
War  of  1812  in  general,  the  same  writer  says, 
^'The  lessons  of  the  war  are  so  obvious  that 
they  need  not  be  stated.  Nearly  all  the  blun- 
ders committed  were  repetitions  in  an  aggra- 
vated form  of  the  same  blunders  in  the  Revo- 
lution, and  like  them  had  their  origin  either  in 
the  mistakes  or  omissions  of  military  legisla- 
tion.'' ^*dj[f  these  things  be  true,  American 
children  have  a  right  to  know  them.  There  is 
plenty  of  heroism  in  our  history;  ther^  is  no 
need  of  trying  to  find  it  where  it  is  not. V  And 

1  Military  Policy  of  the  United  States,  pp.  127-128. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  142. 

^  George  Washington  thus  criticizes  American  military 
policy:     "Had  we  formed  a  permanent  army  in  the  begin- 

210 


THE  LESSON  FOR  AMEEICA 

our  national  future  will  be  much,  better  pro- 
moted by  a  frank  acknowledgment  of  past 
weaknesses  than  by  bombastic  national  glori- 
fication.   France  has  pointed  the  way. 

Furthermore,  our  youth  should  know  of  the 
law  of  the  continuity  of  history.  They  would 
then  realize  that  the  nations  of  the  world  are 
most  unlikely  to  break  suddenly  with  their  past 
habits  and  that  therefore  any  immediate  real- 
ization of  the  ideal  of  universal  peace  is  prac- 
tically an  impossibility.  If  there  were  no  other 
arguments  against  pacificism  this  law  alone 
ought  to  deal  it  a  deathblow. 

With  greater  impartiality  in  the  study  of 
history  should  go  a  fuller  and  more  accurate 

ning,  which  by  the  continuance  of  the  same  men  in  service, 
had  been  capable  of  discipline,  we  never  should  have  had  to 
retreat  with  a  handful  of  men  across  the  Delaware  in  1776, 
trembling  for  the  fate  of  America,  which  nothing  but  the 
infatuation  of  the  enemy  could  have  saved;  we  should  not 
have  remained  all  the  succeeding  winter  at  their  mercy, 
with  sometimes  scarcely  a  sufficient  body  of  men  to  mount 
the  ordinary  guards,  liable  at  every  moment  to  be  dissi- 
pated, if  they  had  only  thought  proper  to  march  against 
us.  .  .  .  Had  we  kept  a  permanent  army  on  foot  the 
enemy  could  have  had  nothing  to  hope  for,  and  would  in  all 
probability  have  listened  to  terms  long  since."  Ibid.,  pp. 
53-54,  from  Sparks'  "Writings  of  Washington,"  Vol.  7,  pp. 
162,  164. 

211 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

knowledge  of  present  conditions.  In  connec- 
tion with  the  study  of  geography,  specific  in- 
formation should  be  given  in  regard  of  the 
strength  and  efficiency  of  our  army  and  navy  as 
compared  with  those  of  other  great  countries. 
The  condition  of  our  fortifications,  the  weak- 
nesses of  our  frontier  should  be  known.  Fur- 
thermore, the  expense  involved  in  adequate 
preparedness  should  not  be  concealed;  but  the 
children,  having  been  taught  the  necessity  of 
such  expense,  should  be  led  to  a  willingness  to 
share  later  in  the  financial  burdens  involved. 
Finally  there  should  be  some  study  of  the  for- 
eign problems  which  confront  the  government. 
In  this  connection  regular  instruction  should 
be  given  in  current  history,  than  which  there  is 
probably  no  subject  better  calculated  to  create 
a  permanent  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  na- 
tion. 

By  such  means,  perhaps,  the  present  insidious 
apathy  in  regard  to  the  vital  concerns  of  our 
country  can  be  partially  removed.  The  rising 
generations  will  learn  that  they  are  living,  not 
in  a  Utopia,  but  in  a  man-made  world  where  it 
behooves  every  nation  to  be  on  its  guard.  If 
the  feminine  influence  in  American  education 
is  not  too  strong,  a  more  virile  patriotism  can 

212 


THE  LESSON  FOR  AMERICA 

be  developed.  There  can  be  inculcated  a  strong- 
er feeling  of  obligation,  a  sterner  sense  of  duty 
toward  the  Fatherland. 

Alarmists  may  protest  that  instruction  of 
this  character  will  lead  to  militarism.  But  there 
is  no  fundamental  reason  why  it  should  do  so. 
No  doubt  certain  French  writers  of  textbooks 
have  striven  to  inculcate  in  the  youth  of 
France  the  desire  for  war  with  Germany.  No 
doubt  a  narrowly  nationalistic  instruction  in 
Germany  has  fostered  the  spirit  of  conquest. 
But  against  chauvinism  it  is  always  possible 
for  education  to  guard;  and  the  school  can  do 
much  to  promote  international  amity. 

To  attain  these  happy  results  the  school 
should  first  of  all  emphasize  the  fact  that  the 
army  and  navy  are  for  the  defense  of  the  na- 
tion, not  to  further  national  aggression.  Every- 
thing that  savors  of  the  braggart  spirit,  that 
tends  to  hostility  toward  any  other  country, 
should  be  expunged  from  the  teaching  of  the 
schools. 

In  this  connection,  again^the  study  of 
American  history  needs  a  thomugh  revision. 
For  this  subject  has  helped  to  perpetuate  the 
effete  idea  that  Great  Britain  is  our  hereditary 
enemy^ ")  That  this  has  been  done  incidentally 

y/  213 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

to  national  glorification  rather  than  of  set  pur- 
pose scarcely  lessens  its  harmfulness.  **The 
widespread  spirit  of  hostility  which,  like  a 
prairie  fire,  swept  over  the  country  after  Presi- 
dent Cleveland's  Venezuelan  message,  and 
which  utterly  amazed  England,  was  a  startling 
revelation  of  latent  belligerency  due  largely  to 
a  narrow  and  false  teaching  of  history. ' '  ^ 
Fortunately,  modern  historical  scholarship  is 
turning  to  documents  less  biased  than  the  time- 
honored  Annual  Register,  on  which  so  many 
histories  of  the  American  Revolution  were  so 
largely  built.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  spirit 
of  this  newer  research  will  more  and  more  thor- 
oughly permeate  the  teaching  of  history  in  our 
schools. 

<;^Education  can  hasten  in  a  more  positive  way, 
hoVever,  the  era  of  good  feeling  among  the  na- 
tions. For  example,  more  sympathetic  atten- 
tion can  be  given  to  the  history  and  civilization 
of  foreign  countries.  It  is  one  of  the  weak- 
nesses of  the  educational  systems  of  France  and 
Germany  that  each  country  inclii^es  to  give  dis- 
proportionate attention  to  itself/^  In  the  pri- 
mary schools  of  France,  according  to  Farring- 
ton,  *Hhe  work  in  geography  and  history  is 
^  Mead :  Patriotism  and  the  New  Internationalism,  p.  15. 

214 


THE  LESSON  FOR  AMERICA 

confined  almost  exclusively  to  France  and  her 
colonies,  most  of  the  other  parts  of  the  world 
receiving  only  hasty  consideration/'^  For- 
tunately for  the  cause  of  international  amity, 
however,  Europe  has  long  been  the  Mecca  of 
American  devotees  of  culture.  The  little  school- 
mistress, who  has  hoarded  her  slender  savings 
for  the  long-anticipated  Cook's  tour,  returns 
from  her  trip  full  of  respect  and  admiration  for 
the  countries  she  has  visited.  Her  sympathetic 
interpretation  does  much  to  inspire  in  her  pu- 
pils like  feelings  for  the  peoples  of  these  lands. 
But  much  more  might  be  done  through  educa- 
tion to  develop  a  friendly  attitude  toward  other 
nations.  <^he  government  might  send  Ameri- 
can pupils  as  well  as  American  teachers,  in 
large  numbers,  to  study  abroad,  receiving  in 
return  similar  educational  representatives  from 
foreign  parts.  The  textbooks  of  other  coun- 
tries, too,  might  be  used  in  American  schools, 
thus  promoting  at  one  and  the  same  time  the 
study  of  foreign  languages  and  the  sympathetic 
appreciation  of  foreign  peoples?)  Especially 
ought  friendship  with  the  South  American 
states  to  be  strengthened  in  such  ways  as  these. 

^  Farrington :  Public  Primary  School  System  of  France, 
p.  111. 

215 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

Thus  can  be  lessened  the  dangers  of  interna- 
tional misunderstandings  and  disputes. 

It  is  possible,  then,  to  make  of  education  in 
America  a  great  political  instrument  which 
shall  lay  a  psychological  foundation  for  a 
strong  national  defense  and  at  the  same  time 
restrain  chauvinism,  and  pave  the  way  for  a 
realization  of  the  ideal  of  human  brotherhood. 
On  the  one  hand  can  be  inculcated  that  self- 
sacrificing  devotion  to  the  Fatherland  which  in- 
spires the  schools  of  France  and  Germany.  On 
the  other  hand  can  be  developed  that  true 
friendship  toward  other  countries  which  must 
inevitably  precede  the  complete  attainment  of 
international  amity.  But  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  education  is  not  itself  a  creative 
force ;  it  simply  intensifies  ideals  and  purposes 
already  dominant  in  the  national  life.  If,  how- 
ever, well-considered  public  opinion  really  de- 
mands preparedness,  education  can  strengthen 
and  rationalize  this  sentiment.  If  the  heart  of 
the  nation  is  at  the  same  time  bent  on  the  avoid- 
ance of  militarism,  education  can  be  used  as 
a  safeguard.  Always  it  can  be  Eeason's  most 
effective  weapon  in  her  struggle  against  Ig- 
norance and  Passion. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

MILITARY  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE 

A  Gekman  who  was  once  asked  to  address  a 
group  of  American  students  in  regard  to  his 
school  experiences  concluded  with  an  account 
of  his  training  in  the  army  of  the  Fatherland. 
For  the  army,  as  he  pointed  out,  is  the  apex 
of  the  German  school  system.  Practically  every 
male  citizen  is  compelled  by  law  to  undergo 
some  military  instruction,  and  his  character  is 
decidedly  affected  thereby.  Nor  is  Germany 
alone  in  accepting  the  principle  of  universal 
compulsory  service.  France,  too,  has  long  had 
her  citizen  army,  as  have  all  the  chief  powers 
of  the  world  save  England  and  the  United 
States.  Even  Switzerland  and  Australia  have 
become  ^^ nations  in  arms'' ;  and  it  has  been  sug- 
gested that  the  military  systems  6f  these  two 
lands  have  features  well  worthy  of  imitation 
in  our  own  country.  It  is  claimed  that  they 
offer  the  advantages  of  adequate  defense  with- 

217 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

out  impairing  the  liberties  of  the  individual, 
or  leading  to  militarism.  Since  belief  in  these 
ideas  seems  to  be  growing,  it  is  quite  possible 
that  before  long  the  obligation  to  undergo  a 
limited  amount  of  military  service  even  in  time 
of  peace,  will  be  regarded  in  the  United  States 
as  a  normal  corollary  of  citizenship. 

Modern  conscription,  contrary  to  a  widely 
accepted  popular  belief,  is  of  French  rather 
than  of  German  origin.  In  the  early  years  of 
the  Revolutionary  period,  when  France  was 
in  imminent  danger  from  hosts  of  foreign  sol- 
diers who  threatened  to  overrun  the  land,  sup- 
press the  new  social  forces  which  had  taken 
control  of  the  country,  and  reestablish  the  An- 
cient Regime  in  all  its  former  pomp  and  power, 
the  liability  of  all  able-bodied  citizens  to 
serve  in  the  army  was  decreed.  While  the 
means  of  enforcement  were  at  first  inadequate, 
nevertheless  large  forces  of  men  were  raised  in 
this  manner.  Numbers  and  enthusiasm  for  the 
Revolution  atoned  in  part  for  lack  of  training, 
and  military  success  testified  to  the  efficacy  of 
conscription.  It  was  not  until  17f9,  however, 
that  the  compulsory  principle  was  firmly  estab- 
lished. In  that  year  General  Jourdan  intro- 
duced into  the  Council  of  Five  Hundred  a  law 

218 


MILITAEY  TEAINING  IN  EUROPE 

which  ^^  remained  practically  unaltered  as  the 
basis  of  the  French  military  organization  down 
to  1870.  The  law  definitely  laid  down  the  liabil- 
ity of  every  able-bodied  French  citizen  to  serve 
from  his  twentieth  to  his  twenty-fifth  year,  leav- 
ing it  to  circumstances  to  determine  how  many- 
classes  or  what  proportion  of  each  should  be 
called  up  for  service.  Finally  after  much  dis- 
cussion the  right  of  exemption  by  payment  of 
a  substitute  was  conceded,  and  therein  lay  the 
germ  of  the  disaster  of  1870. '  ^  ^  It  was  this 
law  which  made  possible  Napoleon  ^s  boast  to 
Mettemich,  ''I  can  afford  to  expend  thirty 
thousand  men  a  month. ' '  ^  jj^  ^^s  this  law 
and  the  successes  that  attended  its  operation 
which  in  the  end  forced  the  other  European 
states  to  pass  similar  measures,  and  substi- 
tuted the  armed  nation  for  the  professional 
army.^ 

If,  however,  modern  conscription  is  of  French 
origin,  the  principle  of  the  trained  reserve  force 
is  attributable  to  Prussian  influence.  The 
awakening  of  the  soul  of  Prussia,  which  fol- 

^  Article  on  Conscription,  in  the  eleventh  edition  of  the 
Encyclopedia  Britannica  (Vol.  VI,  p.  973),  by  Col.  Maude, 
the  English  military  critic. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  972. 

^Ibid.;  Johnston:  Arms  and  the  Race,  p.  49. 
219 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

lowed  the  battle  of  Jena  and  initiated  that  great 
movement  for  patriotic  education  which  has 
been  previously  described,  found  its  most  im- 
mediately effective  expression  in  a  miUtary  ref- 
ormation of  tremendous  significance.  A  mili- 
tary commission  was  appointed  with  Scharn- 
iiorst  at  the  head.  Him  Henderson  describes 
as  ^ '  unmilitary,  almost  slovenly  in  appearance, 
with  no  objection  to  munching  his  evening  meal 
in  the  streets  or  parks  of  Hanover,  yet  by  vir- 
tue of  necessity  an  ideal  conspirator,  with  as 
many  folds  in  his  conscience,  Treitschke  has 
said,  as  wrinkles  on  his  simple  face. '  ^  ^  With 
Scharnhorst  were  associated  men  like  Clause- 
witz,  Gneisenau  and  Boyen,  whose  names  will 
live  long  in  the  military  history  of  Germany. 
Under  the  influence  of  this  commission  incom- 
petent army  officers  were  punished,  the  luxuries 
of  officers  in  the  field  were  curtailed,  and  op- 
portunity for  promotion  was  opened  to  those 
not  of  noble  birth.  The  treatment  of  the  com- 
mon soldier  was  vastly  improved,  and  instead 
of  being  subjected  to  inhuman  and  degrading 
punishment  for  minor  offenses,  the  iron  dis- 
cipline of  earlier  times  was  relaxed,  and  he  was 
treated    as    a    self-respecting    human    being. 

1  Short  History  of  Geraiany,  Vol.  II,  p.  278. 

220 


MILITAEY  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE 

Finally  the  famous  Krilmper system  was  intro- 
duced. 

The  aim  of  this  system  was  to  expand  the 
army  by  means  of  reserves.  By  a  secret  article 
of  the  Franco-Prussian  Convention  of  Septem- 
ber 8,  1808,  Napoleon,  in  the  insolence  of  a 
power  which  seemed  to  find  especial  delight  in 
the  humiliation  of  Prussia,  had  demanded  that 
that  state  *^  should  limit  her  army  to  42,000  men 
for  at  least  ten  years,  and  should  not  form  a 
militia  or  a  national  guard.''  ^  To  this  demand 
Prussia  perforce  agreed,  but  met  the  situation 
by  training  troops  as  thoroughly  as  possible 
and  passing  them  into  the  reserves,  filling  their 
places  at  regular  intervals  with  raw  recruits 
who  in  turn  went  through  the  same  process. 
Thus  while  the  standing  army  never  at  any  one 
time  exceeded  the  stipulated  number  of  42,000, 
as  many  as  150,000  men  were  available  by  1812 
for  effective  use  whenever  the  call  to  arms 
might  come.2  How  well  these  reservists  could 
fight,  Napoleon  learned  to  his  sorrow  in  Octo- 
ber, 1813,  at  the  fateful  Battle  of  the  Na- 
tions. 

The  Prussian   system   of  military  training 

1  Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  IX,  p.  333. 

2  Ibid. 

221 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

was  made  permanent  by  Boyen's  law,  pro- 
claimed on  September  3,  1814.  ^^Boyen's  law 
opens/'  says  Professor  Ford/  ^Svitli  the  words 
of  Frederick  William  I,  *  Every  citizen  is  bound 
to  defend  his  Fatherland.'  The  obligation 
rested  upon  all  after  the  twentieth  year.  Five 
years  were  to  be  passed  in  the  standing  army — 
three  of  these  in  active  service  and  two  as  re- 
servists on  leave.  Then  came  seven  years  in 
the  first  call  of  the  Landwehr,  with  the  obliga- 
tion to  serve  abroad  as  well  as  at  home,  to  par- 
ticipate in  occasional  reviews  and  drills  on  set 
days,  and  once  annually  to  participate  with  the 
regular  army  in  larger  maneuvers.  The  second 
summons  of  the  Landwehr  filled  out  seven  years 
more  with  occasional  drills,  the  obligation  to 
do  garrison  duty  in  war,  and  the  possibility  of 
service  abroad  in  need.  After  these  nineteen 
years  they  were  to  hold  themselves  ready  for 
service  in  the  Landsturm,  which  included  all 
those  between  the  ages  of  seventeen  and  fifty 
who  were  in  any  way  able  to  bear  arms.  Its 
uses  were  purely  defensive.  The  citizens  who 
could  show  a  certain  degree  of  education  and 
could  furnish  their  own  arms   and  uniforms 

^Boyen's  Military  Law,  in  American  Historical  Review, 
Vol.  XX,  pp.  536-537  (April,  1915). 

222 


MILITARY  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE 

served  only  one  year  with  the  colors  and  then 
generally  in  special  troops  {Jdger  and  ScliilU 
zen),  followed  by  two  years  as  reservists,  and 
had  a  prior  right  to  officers  ^  places  in  the  Land- 
ivelir.  The  standing  army  was  to  form  the  core 
of  this  army,  thus  preserving  in  the  new  na- 
tional army  the  best  proved  product  of  the  old 
regime. ' '  This  law  the  same  writer  believes  to 
be  the  most  important  statute  of  the  nineteenth 
century.^  It  has  served  as  a  model  for  the  mili- 
tary systems  of  all  the  leading  European  pow- 
ers save  England  alone. 

It  is  remarkable  how  closely  the  general  tenor 
of  the  laws  governing  compulsory  military 
training  in  Germany  at  the  present  time  re- 
sembles that  of  the  Prussian  act  of  1814,  al- 
though of  course  certain  lesser  differences  are 
to  be  noted.  The  term  of  service  in  the  stand- 
ing army  (in  time  of  peace)  is  now  seven  years 
instead  of  five,  but  the  actual  training  of  in- 
fantry with  the  colors  is  two  years  instead  of 
three.  Thus  the  period  for  reserve  service  in 
the  standing  army  has  been  increased  from  two 
years  to  five.^    During  these  five  years  the  re- 

1  Ibid. 

2  For  cavalry  and  horse  artillery  the  terms  are  three 
years  in  the  ranks,  four  in  the  reserve. 

223 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

servist  is  expected  to  join  his  corps  for  actual 
training  twice,  for  periods  of  not  over  eight 
weeks  each. 

Terms  in  the  Landwehr  and  Landsturm 
are  somewhat  shorter  today  than  nnder  Boyen^s 
law,  so  that  liability  to  military  service  ends 
at  forty-five  instead  of  fifty  years  of  age. 
The  chief  duty  of  the  Landwehr  in  time  of  war 
is  supposed  to  be  that  of  garrisoning  the  home 
fortresses  and  manning  the  coast  defenses. 
^'They  also  furnish  the  armies  to  occupy  con- 
quered territory,  to  guard  prisoners,  and  to 
assume  every  duty  that  will  prevent  the  diver- 
sion of  troops  from  the  battle  lines  at  the 
front."  ^  The  Landsturm  is  supposed  to  be 
used  purely  for  home  defense.  Extraordinary 
conditions  may  of  course  force  a  modification 
of  these  regulations. 

The  system  of  one-year  volunteers,  decreed 
by  Boyen's  law,  is  also  retained  at  the  present 
time.  Young  men  who  have  passed  certain  ex- 
aminations are  allowed  to  complete  their  service 
in  the  ranks  in  one  year.  They  are  expected, 
however,  to  pay  their  own  expenses  during  this 
period,  which  '  ^  are  reckoned  at  from  four  hun- 

^  O'Ryan  and  Anderson :  The  Modern  Army  in  Action, 
p.  53. 

224 


MILITARY  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE 

dred  to  ^ve  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. '  ^  ^  From 
these  men  most  of  the  reserve  officers  are 
chosen. 

A  certain  proportion  of  the  able-bodied  men 
of  Germany  have  been  able,  in  time  of  peace, 
to  escape  the  military  training  just  outlined. 
The  population  of  the  Empire  has  increased  so 
rapidly  since  1871  that  more  men  have  been 
available  for  service  than  the  government  felt 
that  it  needed,  or  could  aiford  to  train  thor- 
oughly. These  men,  escaping  conscription  by 
lot,  or  rejected  by  the  military  authorities  be- 
cause of  minor  physical  disabilities,  form  what 
is  known  as  the  Ersatzreserve.  Their  ' '  special 
function  is  to  supply  men  to  replace  war  losses 
so  as  to  maintain  the  companies  in  the  field  at 
full  strength.  For  twelve  years  they  are  car- 
ried in  this  reserve  and  during  this  time  they 
are  called  out  for  a  total  of  three  periods  of 
training,  lasting  ten,  six  and  four  weeks  respec- 
tively. ' '  2  In  the  event  of  war  their  training  is 
completed  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

The  fighting  strength  of  Germany  at  the 
opening  of  the  present  war  consisted,  then,  (1) 

^Fullerton,  G.  S.:  Germany  of  Today,  p.  91. 
2  O'Ryan  and  Anderson :    The  Modern  Army  in  Action, 
p.  51. 

225 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

of  a  standing  army  composed  of  three  classes 
of  men:  first,  those  who  were  serving  a  two 
years*  term  in  the  ranks  and  were  continually 
in  training;  second,  those  who  were  serving  a 
five-year  period  in  the  reserve  in  readiness  for 
action,  but  accountable  for  only  two  compara- 
tively brief  periods  of  training  in  time  of  peace ; 
and  third,  the  one-year  volunteers;  (2)  of  a 
Landwehr,  ready  for  garrison  and  other  duties 
in  the  event  of  war;  (3)  of  a  Landsturm  for 
home  defense;  and  (4)  of  an  Ersatzreserve  to 
supply  vacancies  created  in  the  active  army  by 
the  casualties  of  war. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  the  French  sys- 
tem in  detail.  After  her  crushing  defeat  in 
1870,  France  determined  to  reorganize  her 
army  according  to  the  Prussian  model.  Hence 
the  military  law  of  July  27,  1872,  rendering 
every  Frenchman  liable  to  service  between  the 
ages  of  twenty  and  forty.  Substitution  was 
abolished,  though  certain  classes  were  allowed 
partial  or  complete  exemption.  The  period  with 
the  colors  was  fixed  at  five  years.  Germany 
gasped  with  astonishment,  tried  to  bully 
France,  and  then  to  isolate  her,  but  to  no  avail. 
Not  till  1889,  when  passions  waned  and  calmer 
thoughts  prevailed,  did  France  reduce  the  term 

226 


MILITAEY  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE 

of  active  service  to  three  years.  In  1905,  after 
the  Dreyfus  case  and  its  attendant  circum- 
stances had  aroused  a  large  part  of  the  people 
to  feverish  opposition  to  the  army,  service  with 
the  colors  was  reduced  to  two  years,  but  at  the 
same  time  exemptions,  save  those  for  physical 
disability,  were  abolished.  The  year  before  the 
outbreak  of  the  present  war,  however,  France, 
alarmed  at  measures  taken  by  Germany  to  in- 
crease the  standing  army  and  to  lay  up  new 
stores  of  ammunition,  raised  the  term  of  serv- 
ice to  three  years  again,  and  prepared  for  the 
inevitable.  Discussing  in  July,  1913,  this  army 
bill  of  France,  a  writer  in  the  Edinburgh  Re- 
view is  reminded  of  a  passage  in  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  in  1868  between  Jules  Favre  and 
Marechal  Niel,  apropos  of  a  proposed  increase 
in  the  army,  *^  Would  you,  then,  make  of  France 
a  barracks f  exclaimed  Favre;  to  which  Niel 
replied,  ^ '  Take  care  that  you  do  not  make  of  her 
a  cemetery.''  This  was  but  two  years  before 
the  battle  of  Sedan.^ 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  both  France  and 
Germany  have  taken  military  training  with  the 
utmost  seriousness,  and  that  the  individual  citi- 
zen is  far  from  finding  his  years  of  service  a 

^  Edinburgh  Review,  July,  1913,  p.  235. 

227 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

sinecure.  In  the  German  army  the  recruit  is 
first  taught  to  walk  in  military  fashion,  to  stand 
straight,  and  to  take  part  in  squad  evolutions. 
Then  he  learns  the  use  of  the  rifle  and  is  trained 
in  close  order  drill.  During  the  summer  months 
he  is  taken  out  into  the  open,  is  hardened  physi- 
cally, and  prepared  for  the  August  and  Sep- 
tember maneuvers.  These  maneuvers  approach 
as  nearly  as  possible  actual  war  conditions.^ 
The  following  extract  from  an  account  given 
some  ten  years  ago  by  one  who  had  undergone 
this  training  shows  how  its  hardships  and  bru- 
talities stand  out  in  the  soldier's  mind:  ^ 

*  ^  If  I  live  to  be  a  hundred, ' '  says  the  writer, 
**I  will  never  forget  those  few  initial  weeks. 
They  were  simply  hell.  The  first  two  weeks  I 
was  taught  how  to  walk.  Here  was  I,  fully 
grown  man — at  twenty  a  lad  thinks  he  knows  it 
•all — ^being  instructed  in  the  art  of  walking  prop- 
erly. I  felt  like  a  child ;  it  hurt  my  pride.  For 
three  hours  every  morning,  and  for  two  each 
afternoon,  I  had  to  walk  back  and  forth,  a  regu- 
lar moving  clothes  dummy.     If  this  was  the 

^  O'Ryan  and  Anderson :  The  Modem  Army  in  Action, 
pp.  47-49. 

2  Schultz,  E. :  "A  Soldier  of  the  Kaiser,"  in  the  Indepen- 
dent, August  23,  1906,  pp.  430  ff. 

228 


MILITARY  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE 

glorious  life  of  a  soldier,  I  already  had  my  fill 
of  it.  At  times  I  would  rebel  mentally,  and,  in 
consequence,  my  walk  would  become  slouchy. 
I  was  quickly  brought  to  my  senses  by  the  lan- 
guage hurled  at  me  by  the  officers,  which  was 
coarsely  forcible  and  far  from  complimentary 
to  me.    But  it  made  me  walk. ' ' 

He  then  goes  on  to  tell  how  poor  the  food 
was ;  how,  after  he  had  learned  to  walk,  he  was 
drilled  in  marching  with  other  recruits,  and 
then  was  taught  to  carry  a  rifle.  The  process  of 
learning  to  wear  a  helmet  he  describes  as  al- 
most unendurable.  ^^The  leather  lining  gripped 
my  forehead,  and  the  helmet  itself  pressed  so 
heavily  that  at  times  I  thought  I  should  go 
stark,  raving  mad.  But  the  watchful  eye  of  the 
officer  was  continuously  focused  upon  me,  and 
I  was  more  afraid  of  oifending  that  vigilant 
taskmaster  than  of  anything  else. 

'^  .  .  Of  course,  army  regulations  forbid  an 
officer  to  abuse  and  strike  a  private,  but  they 
do  it,  nevertheless. 

**One  day  I  was  almost  prostrate  with  fa- 
tigue. In  spite  of  all  my  efforts  to  the  contrary, 
my  chin  would  occasionally  stick  itself  out  in  a 
most  unsoldierly  manner.  An  officer  noticed  it. 
Without  a  word  of  warning,  he  dealt  me  a  ter- 

229 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

rible  blow  on  the  offending  jaw.  I  saw  stars 
for  a  time,  but  I  had  to  accept  my  punishment 
without  a  murmur.  .  .  .  They  have  a  rule  in 
the  German  army  that  if  a  private  is  abused  or 
maltreated  by  an  officer,  he  is  not  allowed  to 
report  the  outrage  until  the  next  day.  This 
gives  the  poor  fellow  a  night's  sleep  to  calm 
dow^n  and  to  weigh  the  matter  carefully.  He 
can  then — if  he  be  so  disposed — take  his  griev- 
ance to  a  superior  officer.  Woe  unto  the  com- 
plainant if  he  fail  in  proving  his  case  abso- 
lutely! Even  if  he  make  it  good,  he  is  thence- 
forth a  marked  man.  Instead  of  being  occa- 
sionally the  butt  of  one  officer's  anger,  he  now 
becomes  a  scapegoat  to  all  his  superiors.  So 
it  always  happens  that,  after  a  night 's  thinking 
over  the  matter,  the  victim  sees  the  folly  of 
heaping  troubles  upon  his  own  head  and  decides 
to  keep  his  mouth  shut.'' 

After  learning  how  to  use  the  rifle  effectively, 
the  young  soldier  of  the  Kaiser  was  considered 
fit  for  field  drill  in  the  open  country.  ^*  At  six  in 
the  morning  we  breakfasted,  and  from  that  on, 
until  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  we  were 
either  on  the  march  or  run.  It  was  heart- 
breaking work,  but  a  blessed  and  welcome  relief 
from  the  drudgery  and  monotony  of  barracks 

230 


MILITAEY  TEAINING  IN  EUROPE 

life.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year  we  had  our 
regimental  drill,  the  maneuvers.'^ 

His  second  year  was  much  like  the  first  and 
he  was  elated  when  his  term  of  service  drew 
to  a  close.  In  spite  of  his  sufferings,  however, 
he  concludes,  *^I  am  proud  that  I  have  served  in 
the  army  of  the  Kaiser.  While  the  training  and 
ill-treatment  nearly  killed  me,  it  made  a  man 
of  me.  The  German  army  is  all  right.  The 
abuses  in  it  are  what  is  wrong.  Let  us  hope 
that  time  and  our  Emperor  will  rectify  the  evil, 
before  it  is  too  late." 

If  the  reader  is  tempted  to  think  this  bru- 
tality characteristic  only  of  the  German  army, 
let  him  turn  to  the  pages  of  Decle's  ^'Trooper 
3809,''  or  even  to  the  milder  impressions  of  Pro- 
fessor Guerard,  as  set  forth  some  five  years 
ago  in  an  article  in  the  Popular  Science 
Monthly.^  *^I  have  roughed  it  a  good  deal 
since  those  days,"  says  M.  Decle,  ^'but  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  time  of  my  ac- 
tive service  with  the  colors  was  the  bitterest 
experience  I  ever  underwent. ' '  ^  He  served  in 
the  70 's,  however,  since  which  time  conditions 

1  "Impressions  of  Military  Life  in  France,"  in  Popular 
Science  Monthly,  Vol.  LXXVIII,  pp.  364-370. 
2 Decle:   Trooper  3809,  p.  8. 

231 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

have  improved.  M.  Guerard,  pointing  out  cer- 
tain dangers  and  abuses  connected  with  mili- 
tary training,  nevertheless  says  that  it  is,  ^^on 
the  whole,  a  very  unpleasant  experience  for  any 
person  of  fastidious  tastes  and  habits;  toler- 
able for  healthy  individuals  of  an  adaptable 
type;  satisfactory  for  the  great  majority."^ 
Complaint  in  France  and  Germany  seems  to 
have  been  chiefly  of  the  brutality  of  under-offi- 
cers,  and  of  the  practical  inability  of  the  com- 
mon soldier  to  secure  justice  against  their  tyr- 
anny.2  ^g  f^j,  ^]^^  other  hardships,  real  prep- 
aration for  war  cannot  be  child's  play;  a 
** natty''  uniform,  a  little-used  rifle,  and  ** right 
forward,  fours  right"  in  the  sunshine  of  fem- 
inine admiration  will  not  equip  a  man  for  the 
death-duel. 

There    are,    however,    few   Americans    who 

1  Op.  cit.,  p.  366. 

2  "The  act  of  striking  a  superior,"  says  Decle,  "meaning 
any  man  superior  in  rank  to  oneself,  from  a  Corporal  up- 
wards, is  punished  by  Death,  even  in  time  of  peace.  Two 
instances  occurred  while  I  served.  In  the  first  instance  a 
private  had  struck  a  Corporal  who  had  bullied  him  in  a 
most  shameful  way;  in  the  second  instance  a  Corporal  had 
struck  an  officer  who  had  called  his  mother  by  a  vile  name. 
Both  men  were  found  guilty  and  publicly  shot  in  the  pres- 
ence of  their  regiment  on  special  parade."  Trooper  3809, 
p.  6. 

232 


MILITAEY  TEAINING  IN  EUROPE 

would  not  recoil  from  the  thought  of  saddling 
our  country  with  such  military  burdens  as 
France  and  Germany  have  carried  for  so  many 
years.  For  us  to  undertake  this  load  would  be 
neither  necessary  nor  right.  On  the  other  hand, 
as  has  been  shown,  there  is  a  growing  feeling 
that  more  should  be  done  to  improve  our  mili- 
tary organization.  Our  national  position  of 
aloofness  from  European  affairs,  of  ^^friend- 
ship with  all  foreign  nations,  but  entangling 
alliances  with  none,"  has  perforce  been 
changed  to  that  of  a  member  of  the  concert  of 
powers  interested  in  world  affairs.  But  while 
our  national  position  has  changed,  our  national 
mechanism  has  not  been  altered  to  conform  to 
new  needs.  We  have  no  diplomatic  force,  be- 
cause no  diplomatic  class  is  systematically 
trained  in  this  country  as  it  is  abroad.  And 
we  have  no  army — ^no  army,  that  is,  capable 
of  resisting  effectively  any  large  force  of 
efficient  troops  which  might  succeed  in  get- 
ting a  foothold  within  our  national  boundaries. 
To  remedy  the  defects  of  our  military  organ- 
ization two  systems  have  been  most  prominently 
considered,  the  Swiss  and  the  Australian. 
These  are  to  the  military  systems  of  the  great 
continental  powers  of  Europe  as  vaccination  is 

233 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

to  the  smallpox.  Those  who  believe  that  the 
United  States  ought  to  be  vaccinated  against 
war  cannot  be  indifferent  to  the  workings  of 
the  citizen  armies  of  Switzerland  and  Australia. 
They  have  striven  to  solve  the  problem  of  estab- 
lishing an  adequate  national  defense  without 
developing  those  features  of  the  conscriptive 
system  which  are  essentially  distasteful  to  the 
American  mind. 

**A11  Swiss  must  perform  military  service,'' 
says  the  law  of  1907.  Those  who  are  disquali- 
fied for  physical  or  other  reasons  from  active 
participation  must  pay  an  exemption  tax.^  As 
in  Germany,  the  military  organization  is  com- 
posed of  an  active  army  (known  in  Switzerland 
as  the  iJlite  or  Auszug)^  a  LandweJir,  and  a 
Landsturm. 

The  foundations  of  military  training  are  laid 
in  the  school.  Education  is  compulsory  between 
the  ages  of  7  and  15,  and  during  this  period  the 
boys  are  required  to  undergo  a  stiif  course  in 
calisthenics  and  other  physical  exercises.  Ri- 
valry in  the  national  sports  is  also  encouraged 

^  Military  Law  of  the  Swiss  Confederation.  Translated 
by  Second  Lieutenant  Alexander  P.  Cronkhite.  United 
States  Senate,  64tli  Congress,  1st  Session.  Document 
No.  360. 

234 


MILITAEY  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE 

and  carefully  directed.  At  the  same  time  the 
boys  are,  in  some  cantons,  obliged  to  become 
members  of  cadet  corps,  in  whose  service  they 
are  taught  map  reading,  marching  and  target 
shooting.  After  leaving  school  and  before  be- 
ginning the  regular  training  required  by  the 
state,  they  may,  if  they  wish,  become  mem- 
bers of  Militaiy  Preparation  Companies.  AU 
this  preliminary  work,  in  school  and  out,  is  of 
no  mean  importance.  '  ^  The  physical  and  mili- 
tary preparation  of  the  Swiss  youth,'*  says 
Captain  Faesch,^  "is  an  essential  part  of  the 
Swiss  military  system.'' 

At  twenty  the  young  Swiss  is  given  his  arms 
and  other  equipment,  which  he  is  expected  to 
keep  always  at  home  and  in  good  condition.^ 
He  is  now  ready  for  active  training,  and  begins 
work  at  a  recruit  school  under  the  supervision 
of  a  permanent  military  instructor.  The  period 
of  service  in  this  school  varies  from  sixty  days 
in  the  sanitary,  veterinary  and  transportation 
corps,  to  ninety  days  in  the  cavalry.^  The 
training  is  intensive  and  therefore  hard  and 

^  The  Swiss  Army  System,  p.  9  (pamphlet  published  by 
Stechert). 

2  Ibid.,  p.  9. 

3  Military  Law  of  the  Swiss  Confederation.  Senate  Doc. 
360,  64th  Cong.,  1st  Session. 

235 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

effective.^  '^Each  day  at  least  eight  hours' 
hard  work  is  required,  except  on  Sundays,  and 
even  then  they  are  frequently  sent  out  for  night 
work  in  the  evening.  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
night  work,  night  firing,  constructing  trenches, 
etc.,  but  it  does  not  interfere  with  that  required 
each  day,  for,  although  the  recruits  may  be  out 
until  three  o  'clock  in  the  morning,  the  work  next 
day  proceeds  as  usual."  ^  If  the  work  is  stren- 
uous, however,  it  is  soon  over.  Sixty  to  ninety 
days  seem  but  a  small  amount  of  time  com- 
pared to  the  two  years  of  service  in  Germany, 
or  three  in  France. 

The  young  militiaman  is  now  a  member  of  the 
Elite  or  active  army.  He  is  turned  over  to  that 
branch  of  the  army  for  which  he  has  been  fitted, 
and  for  several  years  thereafter  is  kept  in 
fairly  good  trim  for  fighting  by  means  of  what 
are  known  as  repetition  courses.  These  occur 
at  annual  intervals  and  last  for  two  weeks  each. 
Conditions  approach  actual  warfare  as  nearly 
as  possible. 

At  thirty-three  the  citizen  becomes  a  member 
of  the  LandweJir.  Every  four  years  he  is  called 
out    to   undergo    a   repetition   course    lasting 

^  See  Appendix  II. 

2  Senate  Doe.  No.  796,  63d  Cong.,  3d  Session,  p.  119. 
236 


MILITARY  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE 

eleven  days.^  The  Landivehr  furnishes  troops 
for  garrison  duty,-  and  is  charged  in  time  of 
war  with  such  operations  as  require  endur- 
ance and  tenacity  of  purpose  rather  than  dar- 
ing. In  war  time  it  may  also  be  used  to  fill  va- 
cancies in  the  Elife.^ 

When  he  reaches  the  age  of  forty-one  the  sol- 
dier passes  into  the  Lands turm,  in  which  he  re- 
mains until  he  is  forty-eight.  ^' These  Land- 
Sturm  sections/'  says  Captain  Faesch,*  *^are 
the  very  men  wanted  to  protect  the  Swiss  Rail- 
road Stations,  tunnels  and  bridges,  the  Alpine 
roads  and  great  passes,  baggage  columns,  elec- 
tric central  power  stations  and  gunpowder 
factories.  They  form  the  Territorial  Army, 
whereas  the  first  and  second  classes  form  the 
Field  Army. 

^^  There  is  still  another  class,  the  non-armed 

Landsturm.      This   class   comprises   all  those 

physically  unfit  as  well  as  those  volunteers  who 

have  not  reached  the  necessary  age  or  who  are 

older  than  the  law  prescribes.     According  to 

their  profession  or  abilities  they  have  to  help 

^  Military  Law  of  the  Swiss  Coufederation.  Senate  Doc. 
No.  360,  64th  Cong.,  1st  Session. 

2  Senate  Doc.  No.  796,  63d  Cong.,  3d  Session,  p.  131. 

3  Senate  Doc.  No.  360,  64th  Cong.,  1st  Session,  p.  23. 
*  Swiss  Army  System,  p.  12. 

237 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

wherever  they  are  needed  (as  bakers,  butchers'", 
typists  in  staff  offices,  in  ammunition  factories, 
etc.).''  The  Landsturm  may  also  be  called  upon 
to  fill  vacancies  in  the  Landwehr  and  the  Elite} 

A  most  important  part  of  the  Swiss  system 
is  the  rifle  practice  which  every  man  receives. 
All  over  Switzerland  exist  societies  of  sharp- 
shooters, semi-official  in  character.  Every  sol- 
dier carrying  a  gun  is  obliged  by  law  to  fire  so 
many  shots  a  year  at  a  target.  Unless  he 
comes  up  to  a  certain  standard,  he  is  sum- 
moned, at  his  own  expense,  to  a  parade  ground 
where  he  must  take  a  special  three  days '  course 
in  rifle  practice.  Every  important  festival  has 
its  contest  in  marksmanship.  Shooting  at  a 
mark  is,  indeed,  as  much  a  national  sport  in 
Switzerland  as  cricket  is  in  England. 

This  intensive  and  practical  training  of  the 
Swiss  has  been  the  chief  influence  in  preventing 
their  country  from  becoming  a  negligible  factor 
in  the  military  calculations  of  the  European 
powers.  Apart  from  geographical  considera- 
tions the  little  republic  could  never  have  been 
overrun  as  was  Belgium. 

In  Australia,  as  in  Switzerland,  it  is  the  duty 

^  Mil.  Law  of  Swiss,  Senate  Doc.  360,  64th  Cong.,  1st 
Session,  p.  23. 

238 


MILITAEY  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE 

of  all  male  citizens,  save  for  a  small  number  of 
exempted  persons,  to  share  in  the  national  de- 
fense. For  this  duty  the  youth  is  prepared  by 
a  carefully  devised  system  of  instruction  con- 
sisting of  three  stages:  (1)  the  junior  cadets, 
from  12  to  14  years  of  age;  (2)  the  senior  ca- 
dets, from  14  to  18  years  of  age;  and  (3)  the 
citizen  forces,  from  18  to  26  years  of  age. 
This  system,  though  organized  during  the  past 
decade,  ^^is  not  new,  but  simply  an  exten- 
sion of  the  old  cadet  and  militia  organiza- 
tion to  include  all  those  who  are  physically 
fit  instead  of  limiting  membership  to  'volun- 
teers.' ''  ^ 

The  first  stage,  that  of  the  junior  cadets,  is 
essentially  preparatory.  Ninety  hours  a  year 
must  be  devoted  to  such  work  as  general  physi- 
cal training,  marching  drill  and  sometimes  min- 
iature rifle  shooting,  swimming,  organized  run- 
ning exercises,  and  first  aid  to  the  injured. 
This  training  is  in  the  hands  of  the  schoolmas- 
ters.2 

The  second  stage,  beginning  at  the  age  of  14, 
lasts  four  years,  and  bears  a  closer  relation  to 
actual  warfare  than  the  first.    The  youth  is  ob- 

^  Senate  Document  No.  796,  63d  Cong.,  3d  Session,  p.  30. 
2  Ibid.,  pp.  33-34. 

239 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

ligated,  during  this  period,  to  four  wliole-day, 
twelve  half-day,  and  twenty-four  night  drills 
(quarter-days),  annually.^  The  training  is  rig- 
orous in  character,  the  aim  being  to  develop 
as  much  soldierly  ability  as  possible  in  the 
shortest  space  of  time.  It  includes  ^^driUs  in 
marching,  discipline,  the  handling  of  arms, 
physical  drill,  guard  duty  and  minor  tactics. 
A  cadet  rifle  and  belt  are  added  to  his  (the 
cadet's)  'junior'  uniform  and  10  per  cent  of 
the  best  shots  are  given  target  practice  with  the 
service  rifle. ' '  ^ 

At  the  age  of  18  or  shortly  thereafter  the  lad 
passes  into  the  militia  or  citizen  army.  Here 
he  is  required  to  render  a  total  of  16  days  in 
the  military  and  25  in  the  engineering  branches 
of  the  servi-ce  annually.  The  act  of  1909  pro- 
vides, however,  ''that,  except  in  time  of  immi- 
nent danger  or  war,  the  last  year  of  service 
in  the  citizen  forces  shall  be  limited  to  one  regis- 
tration or  one  muster  parade. "  ^  In  his  twenty- 
seventh  year  he  is  dismissed  from  active  serv- 

^  These  last  respectively  not  less  than  four  hours,  two 
hours,  and  one  hour  each.  Senate  Doc.  No.  796,  63d  Cong., 
3d  Session,  p.  50 ;  Wood,  L. :  Our  Military  History,  p.  231. 

2  Wood,  op.  cit.,  p.  231. 

3  Sec.  125  of  the  Act  of  1909,  quoted  in  Wood,  op.  cit., 
p.  230. 

240 


MILITARY  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE 

ice.  There  is  mucli  rifle  practice  during  and 
after  the  years  of  training.  There  are,  indeed, 
practically  no  reserves  save  rifle  clubs,  a  fact 
which  called  forth  the  criticism  of  General  Sir 
Ian  Hamilton  shortly  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
great  conflict.  The  mere  fact  that  all  male 
citizens  may  be  called  to  the  colors  up  to  the  age 
of  sixty,  he  does  not  consider  of  itself  a  suffi- 
cient guaranty  of  military  efficiency.^  In  fact 
the  system  is  too  new  to  have  been  thoroughly 
tested,  but  defects  can  be  remedied  with  time 
and  experience. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  is  evident  that 
during  the  nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries 
society  has  given  increasing  recognition  to  the 
idea  of  the  trained  citizen  army.  Evolved  from 
the  distresses  and  dangers  of  France  during  the 
Revolution,  the  principle  of  conscription  made 
possible  Napoleon  ^s  vast  expenditure  of  men, 
and  thus  contributed  to  his  victories.  Accepted 
by  Prussia,  and  developed  through  her  estab- 
lishment of  a  system  of  trained  reserves,  it 
contributed  in  turn  to  Napoleon's  downfall.  In 
the  Franco-German  War  it  again  demonstrated 
its  terrible  efficiency,  and  led  France  to  build 
up  a  citizen  army  of  her  own  on  the  Prussian 

1  Senate  Doc.  No.  796,  63d  Cong.,  3d  Session,  pp.  66-68. 

241 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

model.  In  general  the  continent  of  Europe  has 
believed  it  necessary  to  imitate  the  example  of 
Prussia. 

That  the  United  States  should  impose  upon 
herself  such  burdens  as  France  and  Germany- 
have  carried,  no  one  but  the  most  ardent  mili- 
tarist could  suggest.  On  the  other  hand,  both 
the  Swiss  and  Australian  systems  deserve  the 
careful  consideration  of  Americans.  In  the  first 
place  they  do  not  require  that  large  sacrifice 
of  the  individual's  time  which  the  conscriptive 
systems  of  the  great  European  powers  neces- 
sitate. Certainly  they  demand  no  more  of  the 
individuaPs  time  than  he  ought  gladly  to  give 
to  his  country.  Secondly,  such  time  as  is  re- 
quired is  used  intensively;  attention  is  concen- 
trated on  essentials  like  rifle  shooting,  instead 
of  being  dissipated  on  the  tricks  of  the  parade 
ground.  Furthermore,  in  each  case  control  of 
the  system  is  centralized,  as  it  should  be  in  or- 
der to  attain  the  greatest  military  efficiency. 
In  general  each  of  these  systems  is  well  suited 
to  the  needs  of  a  democracy.  The  defensive 
purpose  of  the  training  is  strongly  emphasized. 
There  is  little  danger  of  the  development  of  a 
military  caste  or  of  an  aggressive  military 
spirit. 

242 


MILITARY  TRAINING  IN  EUROPE 

Mere  imitation  of  tlie  externals  of  the  mili- 
tary systems  of  Switzerland  or  Australia,  how- 
ever, cannot  solve  the  problem  of  preparedness 
for  the  United  States.  *^The  Swiss  system 
works  wonderfully,''  says  Norman  Hapgood, 
'*not  because  of  the  system  itself,  but  because 
of  the  spirit  that  the  people  put  into  the  sys- 
tem. If  the  Swiss  had  no  more  sense  of  public 
duty,  of  what  private  sacrifice  was  reasonable 
in  the  individual,  the  system  would  not  work 
at  all. 

**The  Swiss  lesson  is  not  a  lesson  in  tech- 
nique. It  is  a  lesson  in  citizenship.  We  can- 
not imitate  the  Swiss  army  unless  we  imitate 
the  Swiss  spirit.  We  cannot  have  the  Swiss 
army,  or  anything  remotely  resembling  it,  un- 
til we  have  Swiss  sense  of  citizenship,  Swiss 
respect  for  law,  Swiss  integrity  in  politics; 
until,  in  short,  we  are  an  intense  political  de- 
mocracy, at  a  constant  white  heat  of  civic  feel- 
ing. That  is  what  we  need  to  learn  from 
Switzerland. "  ^  In  other  words,  adequate  pre- 
paredness must  rest  on  a  psychology  of  patriot- 
ism. This  psychology  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
school  to  develop. 

^  Hapgood,  N. :  Swiss  Army  Lesson,  Harper's  Weekly, 
July  17,  1915,  p.  56. 

243 


CHAPTER  IX 

CONCLUSIONS 

As  the  battle  of  Jena  awoke  the  slumbering 
nationalism  of  Prussia,  so  Sedan  aroused  from 
the  comfortable  lethargy  of  the  Second  Empire 
the  patriotism  of  France.  Like  Fichte  before 
him,  Gambetta  set  his  hopes  for  the  future  of 
his  country  on  the  development  of  a  truly  na- 
tional system  of  education.  The  task  of  France, 
however,  was  not  entirely  similar  to  that  of 
Prussia.  Prussia's  object  was,  first  of  all,  to 
escape  from  the  domination  of  the  military  ge- 
nius who  had  conquered,  humiliated,  and  in- 
sulted her.  Behind  this  immediate  aim  lay  the 
dream  of  a  patriotism  not  narrowly  Prussian 
but  broadly  German,  a  patriotism  which  was  to 
draw  together  the  divided  elements  of  a  noble 
race,  and  to  raise  that  race  to  new  heights  of 
greatness  under  the  rule  of  the  Hohenzollerns. 
In  the  accomplishment  of  this  latter  purpose 
the  school  played  a  part  not  sufficiently  recog- 
nized by  historians. 

244 


CONCLUSIONS 

The  work  of  French  patriotism  was,  first, 
to  develop  an  adequate  national  defense 
and  rehabilitate  national  prestige.  Sec- 
ondly, it  was  to  place  on  a  firm  fomida- 
tion  the  insecure  structure  of  the  Eepublican 
form  of  government.  The  strength  and  glory- 
associated  with  the  ancient  monarchy  were  to 
be  revived  by  a  democracy  imbedded  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  The  school  was  to  sus- 
tain the  state  in  its  efforts  to  solve  the 
problems  which  the  Franco-German  War  had 
ushered  in. 

The  educational  renaissance  of  France  may 
be  divided  into  four  periods.  During  the  first 
of  these — ^lasting  for  more  than  a  decade  from 
the  founding  of  the  Third  Republic — Republic- 
anism engaged  with  clericalism  in  a  struggle  to 
control  the  public  school.  However  lofty  the 
teachings  of  the  Church — and  what  doctrines 
could  be  nobler  than  the  fundamental  tenets 
of  Catholicism? — ardent  republican  patriots  did 
not  believe  the  clerical  interpretation  of  them 
to  be  sufficiently  adapted  to  the  pressing  needs 
of  the  time.  The  Church  might  indeed  teacE 
love  of  France,  but  logically  this  love  must  be 
subordinated  to  devotion  to  Catholic  principles. 
Patriotism  could  at  best  be  only  the  second  of 

245 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

virtues ;  republicans  would  place  it  first.  Fur- 
thermore, the  Church  was  implanting,  in  the 
hearts  of  the  young,  belief  in  monarchy,  oppo- 
sition to  the  Republic.  It  was  largely  because 
of  its  power  over  the  rising  generations  that 
Gambetta  and  his  followers  determined  to  crush 
clericalism.  They  would  substitute  the  religion 
of  La  Patrie  for  Christianity  itself, 
rin  the  early  eighties  the  ecole  la'ique  was  es- 
tablished; and  the  second  period  of  the  educa- 
tional renaissance  began.  The  religion  of  the 
Fatherland  held  the  field  without  a  rival.  The 
education  of  patriotism  and  loyalty  was  placed 
on  a  sound  basis  by  the  government,  by  devoted 
textbook  writers,  by  zealous  teachers, 
dren  were  trained  to  the  belief  that  love  o; 
try  was  the  first  of  duties,  and  that  the  first  ele- 
ment of  that  duty  was  to  defend  France  from 
her  enemies  in  time  of  war.  Above  all  thought 
of  self,  the  Fatherland  must  be  enshrined  in  the 
hearts  of  her  citizens.  Hence  her  future  de- 
fenders must  learn  courage,  must  be  ready  to 
endure  the  rigors  of  military  training,  must 
be  prepared  to  make  the  pecuniaiy  sacrifices 
which  an  adequate  national  defense  would  nec- 
essarily entail.  They  must  not  slumber  in  the 
false  security  of  ignorance,  but  must  be  ever 

246 


Chil- 
^oun- 


CONCLUSIONS 

watchful  in  the  presence  of  ever-threatening 
peril^^ 

Nor  did  the  schoolbook  writers  of  this  pe- 
riod, or  at  any  rate  a  goodly  proportion  of 
them,  hesitate  to  point  out  where  they  con- 
ceived the  chief  source  of  danger  to  lie.  In 
their  view  the  foe  of  1870  was  watching  and 
waiting,  preparing  to  plunge  its  talons  into  the 
heart  of  France,  to  tear  away  flesh  and  vitals 
till  the  very  Hfeblood  flowed  out,  leaving  the 
country  a  dead  carcass  to  be  devoured  by  the 
imperial  eagle.  These  writers  taught,  too,  that 
Germany  had  already  taken  her  pound  of  flesh 
in  the  form  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  leaving  in  the 
breast  of  France  a  gaping  wound.  That  wound 
must  be  healed.  The  younger  generations  must 
regain  what  the  men  of  1870  had,  with  aR  their 
courage,  been  unable  to  hold. 

At  the  same  time  the  school  was  used  to  in- 
trench the  Republican  form  of  government.  In- 
stead of  learning  to  look  forward  to  the  re- 
establishment  of  monarchy  as  had  the  children 
of  the  seventies,  the  pupils  of  the  ecole  Idique 
were  taught  to  shun  the  very  thought  of  a  royal- 
ist restoration,  of  imperialism,  of  dictatorship. 
Nor  was  the  Church  treated  with  that  complete 
justice  which  the  ideal  of  toleration  demanded 

247 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

and  which  the  govemment  proclaimed  would  be 
realized.  The  religious  beliefs  of  many  little 
hearts  were  wounded;  many  were  turned 
against  the  Church  of  their  forefathers.  In 
partial  excuse  it  may  be  said  that  in  the  angry 
tempests  of  the  time  strict  neutrality  in  matters 
of  religion  was  practically  impossible  to  many 
temperaments,  however  honestly  they  might 
strive  for  its  attainment.  On  the  other  hand, 
French  youth  were  taught  to  distrust  the  ex- 
treme opposite  of  clericalism ;  they  were  warned 
to  avoid  the  pitfalls  of  revolutionary  social- 
ism. To  the  principles  of  the  Revolution  of 
1789,  however,  they  were  instructed  to  give  their 
heartfelt  allegiance,  for  these  principles,  they 
were  told,  constituted  the  foundations  of  French 
liberty.  The  Third  Republic  was  continuing 
and  developing  these  principles,  as  well  as  re- 
storing the  prestige  of  France  and  conferring 
new  blessings  on  those  living  under  her  enlight- 
ened rule.  In  fine,  to  this  Republic  its  future 
citizens  must  be  prepared  to  render  *Jthe  last 
full  measure  of  devotion'' ;  this  was  the  law  and 
the  prophets  of  the  religion  of  La  Patrie. 

From  the  time  of  its  establishment  the  lay 
school  has  continuously  inculcated  patriotism 
and  loyalty.    Toward  the  close  of  the  nineteenth 

248 


CONCLUSIONS 

century,  however,  began  a  period  of  reaction 
against  the  intense  nationalism  of  earlier  years. 
Disciples  of  various  intellectual,  political  and 
social  creeds  clamored  for  recognition  in  the 
school,  and  attempted  to  undermine  certain  ten- 
ets of  the  religion  of  La  Patrie,  Thus  a  group 
of  scientific  historians  demanded  that  unswerv- 
ing devotion  to  truth  alone  should  characterize 
the  writing  and  teaching  of  their  subject.  They 
insisted  also  that  the  attention  given  to  military 
campaigns  and  exploits  should  be  diminished, 
while  the  history  of  civilization  should  be 
brought  to  the  foreground.  Their  efforts  were 
crystallized  in  the  programs  of  1902 ;  the  glow 
of  patriotic  history  seemed  to  pale  before  the 
cold,  white  light  of  science  and  the  doctrine  of 
■evolution. 

Furthermore,  humanitarian  ideals  knocked 
for  admission  at  the  door  of  the  ecole  laique. 
These  ideals  ranged  in  scope  from  a  mild  oppo- 
sition to  chauvinism,  to  a  belligerent  pacificism 
and  a  disheveled  anarchy.  Supporting  them 
were  the  more  or  less  ill-balanced  theories  of 
certain  intellectuals,  the  clamors  of  syndical- 
ism, and  the  pecuniary  discontent  of  a  teaching 
proletariat.  In  the  textbooks  the  doctrines  of 
these  people  appeared  chiefly  in  protests  against 

249 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

war  and  international  hatreds,  in  assertions  of 
the  brotherhood  of  man.  Among  certain  teach- 
ers they  sometimes  took  the  form  of  acceptance 
of  the  tenets  of  international,  revolutionary  so- 
cialism, expressing  themselves,  perhaps,  in  in- 
sults to  the  French  flag.  Nationalists  spoke  of 
the  crisis  of  patriotism  in  the  schools. 

But  the  movement  lacked  depth.  It  probably 
weakened  but  little  the  carefully  fostered  psy- 
chology of  national  defense,  though  it  must  have 
curbed  chauvinism  and  modified  the  teaching  of 
revanche.  Furthermore,  its  influence  was  brief. 
While  the  wild  cries  of  anti-patriotism  were  re- 
sounding through  the  air,  alarming  those  who 
held  their  country ^s  good  dearer  than  aught 
else,  suddenly  the  German  menace  loomed  dark- 
ly along  the  horizon  of  peace  and  prosperity. 
As  the  cloud  grew  blacker  and  blacker,  the 
frightful  onlookers  ceased  their  petty  squabbles 
and  prepared  to  face  unitedly  the  coming  storm. 
Thus  the  years  immediately  preceding  the  pres- 
ent war  constituted  the  fourth  and  last  period 
of  the  educational  revival.  Not  that  revolu- 
tionary socialism  died  a  sudden  death;  men 
sang  the  ^* Internationale"  on  the  very  eve  of 
the  great  conflict.  But  the  crisis  was  passed. 
New  school  manuals  appeared,  intensely  pa- 

250 


CONCLUSIONS 

triotic  in  character.  The  jeunesse  intellectuelle 
showed  new  vigor,  was  more  athletic,  and 
above  all  responded  more  fervently  than  ever  to 
the  loudly  voiced  appeal  for  devotion  to  the 
Fatherland.    France  was  herself  again. 

The  greatest  immediate  result  of  the  educa- 
tion of  patriotism  and  loyalty  has  been  to  lay  a 
psychological  foundation  for  a  determined  re- 
sistance to  attack.  In  this  respect  the  patriot- 
ism taught  in  the  French  schools  is  perhaps  su- 
perior to  that  taught  in  Germany,  since  it  is 
more  discerning,  more  critical  of  national  er- 
rors. In  France  are  inculcated  the  misfortunes 
as  well  as  the  triumphs  of  the  Fatherland ;  in 
Germany  it  is  chiefly  the  triumphs.  In  so  far, 
then,  as  education  is  a  determining  factor,  the 
morale  of  the  French  soldier  should  be  bet- 
ter in  defeat  than  that  of  the  German.  If  the 
tide  should  turn  against  the  HohenzoUern  Em- 
pire it  will  not  be  well  for  her  sons  to  have 
imbibed  a  fanatical  behef  in  her  invincibility. 

To  the  United  States,  too,  her  sister  repub- 
lic's careful  development  of  the  psychology  of 
national  defense  should  carry  a  lesson.  It  is 
unsafe  to  assume  that  there  is  a  devoted  pa- 
triotism at  the  bottom  of  every  American  heart ; 
it  is  unsafe  to  assume  that  if  such  patriotism 

251 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

exists  it  can  meet  adequately  the  crises  of  mod- 
ern warfare.  It  is  a  crying  shame,  too,  that 
our  schools,  colleges  and  universities  leave  in 
the  hearts  of  youth  so  little  desire  to  study  our 
national  problems,  even  to  acquaint  themselves 
with  the  major  events  of  current  history.  It 
was  self-confident  ignorance  that  led  France  to 
Sedan.  Must  we,  too,  have  a  great  disaster 
before  the  national  consciousness  is  aroused? 
I  am  not  of  those  who  believe  that  any  one  coun- 
try is  planning  our  destruction.  But  if  from 
the  kaleidoscope  of  events  war  should  evolve, 
we  must  be  ready  to  meet  it.  If  eternal  vigil- 
ance is  the  price  of  liberty  in  a  democracy,  then 
none  too  soon  can  we  begin  to  give  our  future 
citizens  some  adequate  idea  of  the  problems 
which  face  us  as  a  world  power;  none  too  soon 
can  we  begin  to  foster  that  spirit  of  courageous 
devotion  to  the  Fatherland  which  is  serving 
France  so  well  in  her  hour  of  trial. 

On  the  other  hand  that  tendency  to  the  inten- 
sification of  nationality,  which  has  been  the  fun- 
damental characteristic  of  the  history  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  should  be  shunned  as  the 
great  political  disease  of  modem  civilization. 
While  science  and  art,  the  steamship,  the  rail- 
road and  the  telegraph  have  been  drawing  the 

252 


CONCLUSIONS 

civilized  countries  of  the  world  closer  and  closer 
together  in  their  outward  manifestations,  the 
development  of  the  principle  of  nationality  has 
drawn  them  farther  and  farther  apart  in  spirit. 
In  earlier  days  Christianity  strove  to  unite  in 
one  brotherhood  the  undeveloped  states  of  west- 
ern Europe.  To  the  theories  of  one  universal 
Church  and  one  universal  Empire  the  medieval 
world  subscribed.  These  visions  have  passed. 
Today  each  great  nation  tends  to  find  in  itself 
alone  those  qualities  that  are  wholly  admirable. 
Each  tends  to  disparage  the  achievements  of 
others,  is  unwilling,  even  unable,  to  grasp  their 
points  of  view.  Each  deifies  its  own  individu- 
ality. Thus  have  been  engendered  race-ego- 
isms, misunderstandings,  suspicions  and  hatred. 
Open  conflict  was  the  inevitable  product. 

In  this  intensification  of  the  national  spirit 
education  has  played  a  part  of  tremendous  im- 
portance. It  has  catered  to  pride  of  race,  it 
has  fostered  racial  antagonisms.  If  France  has 
taught  revanche,  Germany  has  suggested  con- 
quest of  the  lands  once  belonging  to  the  Holy 
Eoman  Empire.  In  the  schoolrooms  of  each 
country  has  the  idea  of  the  hereditary  enmity 
between  the  two  found  welcome.  Each  has  neg- 
lected the  geography  and  history  of  other  coun- 

253 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

tries  to  emphasize  its  own,  and  in  Germany  his- 
tory has  served  as  the  humble  minister  of  na- 
tional self-glorification.  In  the  schools  of  Italy 
irredentism  has  been  taught.  Nor  is  the  United 
States  exempt  from  the  charge  of  having  fos- 
tered antagonism  through  education.  *^  Ameri- 
cans," says  Professor  Morse  Stephens,  **are 
taught  from  childhood  to  hate  Britishers  by  the 
study  of  American  history,  and  not  only  the  de- 
scendants of  the  men  who  made  the  Eevolution, 
but  every  newly  arrived  immigrant  child  im- 
bibes hatred  of  the  Great  Britain  of  today  from 
the  patriotic  ceremonies  of  the  public  school. ' '  ^ 
A  strong  statement,  perhaps,  but  one  which  the 
memories  of  some  of  us  tend  to  confirm. 

Two  facts  make  clear  the  potency  of  the 
school  as  an  instrument  for  the  intensification 
of  nationality.  In  the  first  place  education  has 
become  practically  universal  in  western  Eu- 
rope and  the  United  States.  Only  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  inhabitants  of  a  country  can, 
then,  escape  its  influence.  Furthermore  this  in- 
fluence is  exerted  in  the  most  impressionable 
years  of  life.  ^  ^  The  *  strength  of  early  associa- 
tion,' ''  says  William  James,  *4s  a  fact  so  uni- 

^  Nationality  and  History,  American  Historical  Review, 
Jan.,  1916,  p.  236. 

254 


CONCLUSIONS 

versally  recognized  that  the  expression  of  it 
has  become  proverbial;  and  this  precisely  ac- 
cords with  the  psychological  principle  that  dur- 
ing the  period  of  growth  and  development  the 
formative  activity  of  the  brain  will  be  most 
available  to  directing  influences. ' '  ^  Further- 
more, *4n  most  of  us,  by  the  age  of  thirty,  the 
character  has  set  like  plaster,  and  will  never 
soften  again.'' 2  Such  is  the  modern  psycho- 
logical justification  of  the  old  saying  that  ''as 
the  twig  is  bent,  the  tree  is  inclined. ' '  Individ- 
uals, indeed,  will  react  against  their  early  train- 
ing, but  of  the  masses  of  a  nation  it  can  be 
pretty  safely  asserted  that  what  they  have  been 
taught  in  childhood  will  form  the  basis  of  their 
point  of  view  in  manhood. 

To  those  who  believe  that  the  catastrophe  of 
today  is  the  result  of  a  Machiavellian  plot  be- 
tween the  Kaiser  and  the  Father  of  Lies,  or  to 
those  who  consider  it  the  product  of  British 
greed  and  hypocrisy,  the  spirit  of  education  in 
the  various  countries  will  seem  to  have  no  con- 
nection with  the  present  war.  To  those  who 
look  beneath  the  diplomatic  documents  and 
other  surface  manifestations,  however,  for  their 

^  Principles  of  Psychology,  Vol.  I,  p.  112. 
2  Ibid.,  p.  121. 

255 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

final  explanation  of  the  conflict,  the  intensifica- 
tion of  nationality  through  the  school  must  ap- 
pear deeply  significant.  The  noxious  weeds  of 
racial  egotism  and  racial  antagonism  grow  eas- 
ily and  rankly  in  a  soil  thus  fertilized.  Little 
wonder  that  the  warring  nations  of  today  fail  to 
understand  one  another,  that  each  believes  in 
the  essential  righteousness  of  its  own  cause, 
in  the  essential  perfidy  of  its  enemies.  A  bla- 
tant chauvinism  need  not  have  permeated  the 
school  in  order  to  attain  these  results.  It  is 
sufficient  to  have  exalted  unduly  the  national 
idea,  to  have  interpreted  other  countries  from 
an  unsympathetic  point  of  view.  It  may  be  that 
nationalistic  education  is  the  chief  underlying 
cause  of  the  war.  But  even  if  the  school  is  not 
fundamentally  responsible  for  today's  struggle, 
at  least  it  has  fostered  conditions  out  of  which, 
in  the  present  stage  of  human  evolution,  war 
must  sometime  have  inevitably  developed. 

Nevertheless  it  may  well  be  that  for  these 
very  conditions  the  school  itself  can  become  the 
most  effective  remedy. 

The  bright  vision  of  universal  peace  is  today 
dimmed  by  the  smoke  and  dust  of  the  battle- 
field. International  socialism  has  postponed 
indefinitely  its  dream   of  abolishing  warfare 

256 


CONCLUSIONS 

tbrougli  a  unification  of  the  proletariat.  Dis- 
armament appears  impossible  to  many  of  its 
quondam  advocates  because  of  the  distrust  of 
the  countries  for  one  another.  The  fate  of  Per- 
sia, the  encroachments  on  China,  the  violation 
of  Belgian  neutrality,  all  stand  as  warnings 
against  defenselessness.  The  ultimate  barbar- 
ity of  human  nature  has  revealed  itself  in  all 
sorts  of  brutalities.  The  pacificist,  indeed,  con- 
tinues to  build  his  house  of  hope  on  the  shift- 
ing sands  of  fancy,  instead  of  on  the  solid  rock 
of  human  experience.  But  the  rest  of  the  world 
stands  disillusioned. 

Nevertheless,  in  the  inevitable  reaction  that 
must  follow  the  definite  ending  of  the  war,  the 
demand  for  a  realization  of  the  ideals  of  uni- 
versal peace  and  the  brotherhood  of  man  will 
surely  rise  again.  Toward  such  realization  the 
school  can  do  much;  for  there  are  possibilities 
inherent  in  education,  for  hastening  the  course 
of  human  evolution,  of  which  society  in  general 
has  not  yet  dreamed.  Through  the  school  the 
nations  can  be  sympathetically  interpreted  to 
one  another.  Dreams  like  that  of  Cecil  Khodes 
can  be  realized  on  a  larger  scale  by  extensive 
exchange  of  teachers  and  of  students.  These 
teachers  and  students  can  carry  with  them  the 

257 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

message  of  their  own  countries,  and,  returning 
home,  leaven  their  fellow-citizens  with  the  civ- 
ilization of  the  lands  in  which  they  have  so- 
journed. Furthermore,  the  rising  generations 
can  be  familiarized  with  the  ideal  of  arbitra- 
tion, can  be  taught  the  virtue  of  national  self- 
restraint,  can  be  led  to  respect  the  Hague  Tri- 
bunal, and  to  look  to  it  for  the  solution  of  ques- 
tions which  in  our  era  lead  to  war.  They  can 
be  brought  to  see  why  an  international  league 
to  enforce  peace  is  desirable  for  the  security  of 
the  world.  Patriotism  can  be  taught  at  the 
same  time,  for  patriotism  and  cosmopolitanism 
are  by  no  means  irreconcilable.  Through  such 
humanitarian  teachings  the  great  states  of  the 
world  can  be  led  to  understand  one  another, 
can  be  made  to  forget  racial  antagonisms  and 
distrusts,  and  can  learn  to  give  true  allegiance 
to  the  dictum  of  Goethe,  ^^  Above  the  nations  is 
humanity.*'  As  the  school  of  yesterday  and 
today  has  fertilized  the  soil  from  which  have 
sprung  national  suspicions  and  hatreds,  so  may 
the  school  of  tomorrow  usher  in  the  era  of  the 
brotherhood  of  man,  of  universal  peace ! 


APPENDIX  I 

THE  MILITARY  VALUE  OF  A  PSYCHOLOGY 
OF  PATRIOTISM 

From  R.  M.  Johnston,   ''Arms  and  the  Race," 
pp.  77-79 

It  was  quite  evident  to  honest  German  investiga- 
tors that  under  modem  conditions  of  intensified  fire, 
shorter  training,  and  looser  tactics,  their  infantry- 
tended  to  dissolve  into  a  mob.  And  mobs  inevitably 
are  less  inclined  to  face  trouble  than  to  escape  it. 
Evidently  the  greatest  efforts  must  be  made  to  obtain 
infantry  leading  highly  trained  in  maintaining  co- 
hesion, continuous  advance,  proper  direction,  and  the 
best  tactical  shock.  But  with  whatever  pains  this 
difficult  standard  might  be  pursued,  there  would  still 
be  the  flinching  of  the  individual  soldier  to  overcome, 
an  almost  insuperable  difficulty,  as  the  experience  of 
1870  seemed  to  show.  "The  only  things,"  wrote 
Honig,  *'that  can  furnish  a  substitute  for  the  lowered 
action  of  the  leaders  on  the  masses  are  a  more  de- 
veloped sentiment  .  .  .  and  the  national  principle  of 
honor.  ...  If  a  national  injury  to  honor,  or  to  terri- 
tory, and  so  forth,  were  felt  in  equal  degree  by  each 
individual,  .  .  .  causing  him  to  require  satisfaction 

259 


PATEIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

and  to  pledge  from  his  innermost  sentiments  body 
and  life  for  this,  then  Tactics  would  have  an  easy 
game  to  play.  .  .  .  Mahomet  was  the  type  of  an  army 
psychologist.  ...  In  war  that  which  is  highest  must 
be  sought  in  the  soul  .  .  .  and  the  fighting  method 
must  correspond  to  it,  must  be  national.  .  .  .  Nations 
which  desire  to  gain  something  .  .  .  will  as  a  rule 
possess  in  their  armies  more  operative  imponderables 
(trans,  freely:  rooted  prejudices)  than  others  do  .  .  . 
that  merely  desire  to  hold,  that  is  to  protect  their 
property,  their  position  among  the  nations. ' '  ^ 

This  idea,  tha  tthe  nation  must  be  fanaticized,  for 
this  is  what  it  amounts  to,  was  the  cry  of  despair  of 
the  tactician  at  the  ineffectiveness  of  modern  infantry 
for  getting  a  decision  by  shock.  It  was  largely  acted 
on  in  Germany  during  the  period  preceding  the  war 
of  1914,  and  reenforced  the  previous  acceptance  by 
the  intellectuals  of  the  Bismarckian  doctrine  of  blood 
and  iron.  The  nation  was  trained  to  think  in  artificial 
terms,  all  tending  to  fanaticize  the  rank  and  file  and 
thereby  to  increase  efficiency. 

^Honig:  Tactics  of  the  Future,  4th  Edition,  Part  II, 
Sections  1,  3  and  4. 


APPENDIX  II 

A  DAY'S  WORK  IN  THE  SWISS  ARMY 

From  a  Report  on  ' '  The  Swiss  Military  Organiza- 
tion," BY  Capt.  T.  B.  Mott,  Quoted  in  Senate 
Document  No.  796,  63d  Congress,  3d  Session, 
pp,  138-139. 

To  show  the  way  the  Swiss  map  out  a  day's  work, 
I  will  give  a  short  account  of  24  hours  I  spent  with 
a  class  of  recruits  and  a  cadre  school.  The  morning 
exercises  went  on  as  usual.  At  2  p.  m.  the  senior 
Cavalry  instructor  (commanding  a  brigade)  assem- 
bled the  20  or  30  lieutenants  who  were  present  as 
assistants  in  a  course  for  candidate  corporals.  The 
same  was  done  for  the  infantry  (a  recruit  course  was 
on).  The  candidates  made  up  the  troopers  of  two 
squadrons,  the  young  officers  commanding.  In  the 
lecture  room  of  the  barracks  the  theme  was  given  out 
and  the  assignments  made,  the  brigadier  explaining 
first  in  German  and  then  in  French  what  it  was  pro- 
posed to  do,  and  gave  his  ideas.  The  officers  took  notes 
with  maps  in  front  of  them.  Two  assistant  instruc- 
tors, captains,  were  present.  They  then  mounted  and 
took  their  squadrons  some  6  miles  out  and  posted 
them,  covering  a  debarkation  in  rear  and  feeling  for 
an  enemy  expected  from  the  north.    This  constituted 

261 


PATRIOTS  IN  THE  MAKING 

the  left  of  the  line.  The  right  was  made  up  of  the 
battalion  of  infantry  recruits  (they  had  been  under 
instruction  three  weeks).  The  enemy  was  composed 
of  four  bicycle  companies  ordered  from  another  gar- 
rison to  move  toward  Berne. 

About  6  p.  m.  I  rode  out  with  the  brigade  com- 
mander, who  inspected  the  posts.  I  was  greatly  struck 
with  his  painstaking  way  of  questioning,  not  only 
each  chief  of  post  but  most  of  the  privates.  What 
will  you  do  in  such  and  such  a  case?  Where  is  the 
next  post?  Who  commands  it?  Where  does  this 
road  lead  to?  Where  is  the  captain  to  be  found? 
Most  of  the  replies  were  intelligent,  and  showed  that 
during  the  afternoon  the  young  officers  had  gone 
over  the  case  with  every  man.  Each  soldier  had  a 
good  map.  We  got  supper  at  9  o'clock  and  had  a 
little  sleep.  At  2 :30  a.  m.  we  started  out  to  make 
the  rounds.  In  front  of  each  post  the  sentries,  well 
hidden,  were  on  the  alert,  and  upon  being  ordered  to 
fire  a  shot  the  post  came  out  at  once.  At  daybreak 
the  squadrons  were  united  and  then  patrols  sent  on 
the  various  roads  to  look  for  the  enemy,  push  him 
back,  and  see  what  was  behind.  By  7  o'clock  the 
maneuver  was  over. 

The  young  officers  were  then  united  and  the  chief 
instructor  criticized,  in  a  lucid  and  interesting  talk, 
the  little  operation,  the  mistakes  each  man  had  made, 
what  was  done  right,  etc.,  etc.  The  cavalry  then 
rode  home  and  after  lunch  went  to  work  as  though 
they  had  spent  the  night  in  bed.  The  infantry  (re- 
cruits) marched  directly  to  the  skirmish  range  and 
had  skirmish  firing  till  noon,  then  marched  to  bar- 

262 


APPENDIX 

racks  4  miles  for  a  few  hours'  rest  before  resuming 
afternoon  drills. 

Now,  these  recruits  had  been  out  since  2  p.  m. 
the  day  before,  had  supped  on  a  cake  of  compressed 
soup  and  a  piece  of  bread  (I  examined  their  rations) ; 
they  were  on  outpost  all  night  and  had  precious 
little  sleep ;  by  4  a.  m.  they  were  out  maneuvering 
after  breakfast  composed  of  a  piece  of  bread  and  a 
glass  of  milk  (we  all  had  the  same)  ;  the  maneuver 
over  at  8,  they  put  in  4  hours'  marching  and  target 
practice;  then  in  the  late  afternoon  more  drills. 
This  schedule  is,  I  believe,  typical.  I  am  much  on 
my  guard  against  programs  prepared  for  foreign 
inspection;  but,  after  seeing  a  great  deal  of  this 
Swiss  training,  I  can  only  say  it  is  the  most  intense, 
the  most  fiercely  practical  work  I  have  ever  seen.  The 
instructors  do  not  spare  themselves  and  for  them  it 
is  a  continuous  affair.  One  of  the  assistant  instruc- 
tors told  me  very  seriously  that  except  for  a  month's 
leave  he  could  honestly  say  he  had  during  the  entire 
year  just  time  enough  each  day  to  read  the  news- 
papers. 

The  officers  only  get  hold  of  these  men  for  6  or 
8  weeks  at  a  stretch,  but  they  work  them  unceas- 
ingly all  of  that  time.  There  is  so  much  to  learn, 
there  is  so  much  that  is  new  every  day,  and  over  new 
ground,  that  the  interest  really  does  not  flag.  There 
is  plenty  of  mental  and  physical  fatigue,  but  there 
is  no  ennui. 

(I) 


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PRINTED  IN  U.S.A 

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DEC  2  9 1931 


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